B on Hawaii

If you've ever wished that you could immerse yourself with premiere yoga instruction from a variety of teachers from around the globe—all without without spending a fortune on travel—your wish has come true. The annual Hawai‘i Spirit Festival, which takes place on O‘ahu's North Shore from November 4–6, is a three day celebration of yoga, music, movement and Hawaiian Culture.

Every fall on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island, ranchers, cowboys (and gals), foodies and farmers walk past a few parrots, cross over a tram track, climb a staircase, pass a fleet of bronze sculptures, head over a babbling brook and descend into an expansive ballroom inside the Hilton Waikoloa Village for the annual Taste of the Hawaiian Range and Ag Festival. This year the action takes place on Friday, September 30, and you best start saving your appetite.

While we like to make a practice of covering events yet-to-come in order to give esteemed readers the opportunity to attend them, this “wrap up” of a just-passed culinary extravaganza from Jean-George’s Kauai Grill at the St. Regis Princeville is well worth the space. Trumpeting their one-year anniversary last week, the resort’s food and beverage team paired with Kauai Grill chef de cuisine Colin Hazama to bring locals and hotel guests a truly innovative menu that celebrated the notion of maintaining a Hawaiian ahupua‘a.

The Hawaiian Makahiki season is celebrated today without parallel at the Ka‘anapali Beach Hotel, on Maui. There, employees come together for months—beginning in November—to craft an array of gifts to present to the “king” and “queen” after the New Year. This family-friendly resort holds a week-long series of festivities, including a parade, arts and cultural demonstrations, and a dinner feast open to guests and locals at the end of Makahiki.

It’s official—supposably. The cob-webbed Wailea Renaissance hotel on Maui is now slated to be a Hyatt-branded Andaz hotel after $90 million in renovations and two years. The property, which is currently owned by Starwood Capital, was previously scheduled to be a Baccarat Resort, before the downturn in economy forced a pull-out.

There are those within the hospitality field who understand that adversity occasionally births opportunity. The fine folks at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, on the Big Island of Hawaii, fortunately happen to be some of those people. They’ve launched a “Hawaii residents” offer to stay at one of Hawaii’s top luxury resort experiences for $325 per night, plus a $100 flight credit to be used within the resort.

Sticking with the truffles theme, we’ve been alerted to another event, this time on the isle of Maui. Pulehu Italian Grill is celebrating its first anniversary with a “Chocolate and Truffles Decadenza” on Wednesday, October 27, 2010. Executive chef Francois Milliet will command various food stations set up around the picturesque eatery for guests to sample, of which chocolate truffles are the common theme.

If you’re keen on a scenic, north-bound drive on Oahu, like seafood, beautiful vistas and a day outside eating and imbibing with some of the best chefs around, you might want to get yourself to the 6th Annual Seafood Festival at Turtle Bay Resort this Friday and Saturday, October 1st and 2nd. The event will kick off on Friday with a sampling of the North Shore shrimp trucks, followed by the legendary Sam Choy Poke Contest, at 10 a.m., Saturday morning. The affair will wrap up with the Seafood Festival on Saturday night.

The islands are teeming with upscale culinary events this month—and here’s one you won’t want to miss. The finale event in the “Mangoes at the Moana” series is this Friday’s “Tree to Table: A Mango Throw Down” to take place at the Westin Moana Surfrider. (For malihini/visitors who couldn’t already smell it in the air, its mango harvest season in Hawaii.)

From 6:00 p.m.

Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows is boasting some seriously head-turning kama`aina rates this summer, enticing all island-residents to head to the Kohala Coast for some R&R (and the best snorkeling around).