Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [226]
East Hawai′i Cultural Center
In its own quiet, ‘who-me?’ way, Hilo is quite the art town, and the scene is largely driven by the East Hawai′i Cultural Center (Map; 961-5711; www.ehcc.org; 141 Kalakaua St; suggested donation $2; 10am-4pm Mon-Sat). Dedicated to promoting local artists, it presents a range of established professionals and skilled amateurs, all engaged in celebrating and digesting the Hawaii experience. It also offers workshops and classes (including painting, drawing, ukulele and hula) as well as evening events and live music.
Farmers Market
Hilo’S farmers market (Map; www.hilofarmersmarket.com; cnr Mamo St & Kamehameha Ave; 6am-3pm Wed & Sat) is over 20 years old and an islandwide event – drawing folks from as far away as Kona. It’S also Hilo’S liveliest scene, with everyone and their auntie mingling, tasting, buying and gossiping. Covered stalls sell the gamut of fresh produce: pick up papayas, liliko′i, breadfruit, apple bananas, mangoes, Asian greens, organic vegetables and other local specialties (like mushrooms from Laupahoehoe). There’S prepared food, too: bentō boxes, Spam musubi, fresh baked breads, kimchi, sweet desserts, fresh juices and jams, and machete-cut coconuts for drinking. Tropical flowers can be had by the armful.
Opposite this scene, an enormous array of craft and clothing stalls lay out their wares: browse for sarongs and T-shirts, rubbah slippahs and wood carvings, shell jewelry and coconut-leaf baskets. There’S some wonderful stuff along with the standard cheap souvenirs.
It may not happen soon, but long-term plans are to build a $5 million, LEED-certified, three-story building to permanently house the market on the current site.
Wailoa River State Park
Drive along Kamehameha Ave east of the downtown area, and the first thing you notice about this state park (Map) is its imposing 14ft, Italian-made bronze statue of Kamehameha the Great; erected in 1997, and restored with gold leaf in 2004, the statue beckons with an outstretched arm, perhaps inviting you to enjoy the lovely park’S lawns, ponds and arched bridges. Spring-fed Waiakea Pond contains saltwater and brackish-water fish, and there are two memorials: a tsunami memorial dedicated to the 1946 and 1960 victims, and a Vietnam War memorial with an eternal flame.
Adjacent, the Wailoa Center (Map; 933-0416; admission free; 8:30am-4:30pm Mon, Tue, Thu & Fri, noon-4:30pm Wed) is an eclectic, small state-run art gallery that provides fun local color. Multicultural exhibits change monthly and there’S no telling what you’ll find: perhaps quilts, bonsai, historical photos, Chinese watercolors or whimsical mixed media.
Banyan Drive & Lili′uokalani Park
Around tiny Waiakea Peninsula curves Banyan Drive (Map), so-named for the massive banyan trees lining it, containing Hilo’S short ‘hotel row.’ Royalty and celebrities planted the trees in the 1930s, and plaques identify the honorees: Babe Ruth, Amelia Earhart, King George and Mrs Cecil B DeMille, among a number of others.
Banyan Dr also skirts around the nine-hole Naniloa Golf Course (Click here) and the 30-acre, Japanese-style Lili′uokalani Park (Map). This lovely green oasis is named for Hawai′i’S last queen. It contains manicured lawns, saltwater ponds, patches of bamboo, quaint arched bridges, stone lanterns, pagodas and a teahouse. With 2 miles of paths and idyllic views of Hilo and (on a clear day) Mauna Kea across the bay, it’S perfect for a sunset stroll or an early morning jog.
If you have kids, don’t miss the tiny island of Mokuola (Map), aka ‘Coconut Island,’ a separate county park connected