The Left Lane
Make time for jazz

Jazz festival founder Abe Weinstein needs volunteers for the July event.

So it's in keeping with the cooperative side of the medium that the Hawai'i International Jazz Festival is looking for volunteers to help with everything from ticket operations to chauffeuring visiting artists during the July 19-22 event. The nonprofit festival is short on staff but long on enthusiasm for an art form that isn't always very visible in Hawai'i, according to founder and director Abe Weinstein.

E-mail him at aewjazz1@aol.com or call the festival office at 941-9974.

Local sports on Web

Somewhere, beyond the Rainbows, far-flung Island expatriates who long for local sports chatter can get their fix through the Web and two guys named "Kanaka Al" and "Uncle Charlie."

These are the central characters in "Rainbow 5-0 Sports," a new program on PH1Hawaii.com (www.ph1hawaii.com), a Web radio station. "Kanaka" Al Smith is better known locally as "New York Al" in his AM radio spots on KWAI and KISA; "Uncle" Charlie Doremus, a boyhood buddy from the Big Apple who now lives here, is his sidekick both on the air and the Web.

The show will change every two weeks. Smith promises "an eclectic mix of interviews with athletes and coaches."

That innocent icon of California sun and fun, Gidget, still lives and surfs near Los Angeles. In fact, the real Gidget celebrated her 60th birthday by tandem surfing at Waikiki. "We caught two waves," says Kathy Kohner Zuckerman.

Zuckerman was a perky 15-year-old hanging out with a gang of surfers at Malibu Beach, circa 1956, when she told her Hollywood screenwriter father about the guys' crazy nicknames and laid-back traits.

The 1957 best seller "Gidget" was born, triggering national interest in surfing. Long out of print, "Gidget" returns in all its retro splendor on June 12 as a Berkley $13 paperback.

Not so square

Square dancing may have the reputation of being, well, a little square — those skirts and crinolines, those bolos and boots! But this popular dance form has one big plus going for it, according to the Mayo Clinic: It's a great form of exercise.

The Square Wheelers Square Dance Club, headquartered in Pearl City, points to a 1994 Mayo Clinic report that lauds the dance for its ability to burn calories, slow the heart rate and lower blood pressure among others.

The Square Wheelers and the Hayseeds are holding a Community Square Dance for anyone who wants to attend with free lessons from 6:30-8:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Ala Wai Golf Course Ballroom. Casual dress. Hotline: 923-0446. Web site: www.inix.com/squaredancehawaii