The Buzz

Island sounds at the shell

Big? It's bigger than big. It's Bomb Bucha 2002, a spring-break concert of massive musical proportions. The performers at this annual event will include Sean Na'auao, above, Darrell Labrado, Keahiwai, Native Blend, Baba B., Namahana, B.E.T., Natural Vibrations, Three Plus, Ten Feet, Ho'onua, O-shen and others. The music begins at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Waikiki Shell. Tickets are $9.85 for general admission lawn seats, $16.50 for second-terrace reserved, $18.50 first-terrace reserved, and $25 for pool seating. 526-4400.

Rubber duckie, you're the one!

That is, you're one of 20,000 floating down the Ala Wai Canal in the 15th annual Great Hawaiian Rubber Duckie Race and Festival, a benefit for the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Hawaii. It happens Saturday: At 9 a.m., the pre-race activities begin at McCully Shopping Center with entertainment, kids' games and duckie paraphernalia. At 12:30 p.m. the Duckie Parade starts from the shopping center and ends at the Kalakaua Avenue bridge, where the rubber fowl will be dropped for the race at 1:31 p.m. Adopt a duckie for $5 each; prizes will be awarded to winning duckies. 532-6744, ucpahi.org.

Partying with pianists

Juleen Wong, Nadine Mitake and Brett Imamura, doing triple keyboard duties at last year's Piano Party, will hit the ivories again in the Ernest Chang Piano Studio's Piano Playing Party II at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Orvis Auditorium, University of Hawai'i-Manoa. The event features other Chang studio piano students, in a "menu" (repertoire) that will read like a Chinese order sheet, with "items" such as spring rolls, Peking duck, shark-fin soup and fortune cookies on the musical agenda. A highlight will be a "Kid Koncert," by George Anson, performed by four children ages 6 to 8. It's a benefit for the Honolulu and Maui symphony orchestras, Hawai'i Opera Theatre, and the University of Hawai'i Music Department. Tickets are $11 general, $7 students and seniors. 536-0218.

Her name is 'Mame'

Shari Lynn is "Mame," the indomitable auntie of an orphaned boy in the evergreen musical launching at 8 tonight at Diamond Head Theatre. The show repeats at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and at 4 p.m. Sundays through April 7. Tickets are $10 to $40, with some discounts available. 733-0274.

Lu'au fete

The Brothers Cazimero, above, Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom, Na Palapalai, Na 'Oiwi, the Makaha Sons, O'Brian Eselu, Ernie Cruz, Barry Flanagan, Kapena and others will celebrate Hawaiian Kine 105 KINE's 10th anniversary at a grand lu'au at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. Doors open at 4 p.m. Saturday (check out the pupu at Iva's Place Poke Stand), with dinner starting at 6 p.m. It's a benefit for the Great Aloha Run Charities. Tickets are $35 general, $25 for kids 3-12; reserve a table for eight at $250; available at the box office and Ticket Plus outlets. 526-4400, (877) 750-4400 from the Neighbor Islands.

Partners in music

Partners in Time, an ensemble specializing in music from the Balkans and the Near East, including Armenia, Turkey, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Greece, offers a concert at 7:30 p.m. today at Hawai'i Public Radio's Atherton Performing Arts Studio. The group will be joined again by musician, mentor and friend Souren Baronian of New York. Tickets are $15 general, $12.50 for HPR members, $10 for students. 955-8821. Partners in Time and Baronian also perform at this weekend's Great Hawaiian Jazz BlowOut at Kapono's; see Page 16. And the group offers a free performance 7:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Coffee Factory, 1372 S. King St. 949-8858.

Hopping into the Easter mood

Easter is coming, Easter is coming! Well, it's coming March 31, but it's not too early to celebrate the holiday and the advent of spring. Among this weekend's events:

• Melveen Leed and her granddaughter Pua, above, get ready for Windward Community College's Easter Eggstravaganza, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday on campus. Among the attractions: Leed, Ilona Irvine and Soulfree will entertain, food booths, kids' inflatables, games, a fishing derby, tours of the college's new facilities, Hokulani Imaginarium shows, and — of course! — an egg hunt with more than 1,000 eggs for keiki 12 and younger. Admission is free. 235-7469.
• An Easter egg hunt, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday at Queen Lili'uokalani School, 3633 Wai'alae Ave., is sponsored by Kaimuki Christian Church. The event is for kids from preschool to sixth grade and also features entertainment, crafts, candy and prizes. It's free. 735-1771.
• The seventh annual Easter Sea Hunt takes place 9 a.m.-noon Saturday at the Waikiki Aquarium. Activities include games, an egg hunt, pictures with the Easter Bunny and — of course — the aquarium exhibits. The fee is $5, in addition to aquarium admission ($7 general; $5 kama'aina, military, students, seniors; $3.50 youths 13-17; free for kids 12 and younger); free for aquarium members. 923-9741, ext. 3.
• The Waipahu Easter Eggstravaganza and costume contest will include goodie bags, entertainment and the Easter Bunny, 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Hans L'Orange Park. It's free. 677-6939, 586-6830.
• Neighborhood parks around O'ahu will offer free Easter activities:

Saturday: 8:30 a.m., egg hunt, Waiau District Park; 8:30 a.m., egg hunt and teen/adult carnival games, Halawa District Park; 9:30 a.m., egg hunt, Kaimuki Community Park; 9:30 a.m., egg hunt, McCully District Park; 3 p.m., Easter fest, Kamokila Community Park.

Sunday: noon, egg hunt, DeCorte Park, across from Damien High School, Kalihi.

The citizen prince

A parade celebrating the life of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Kalakaua Avenue and Saratoga Road, making its way to Kapi'olani Park. There, the annual Ho'ike'ike, a day of entertainment, food, arts and crafts, and demonstrations, will take place (continuing 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday). The theme of the parade is "Ke Ali'i Maka'ainana: the Citizen Prince," honoring Kuhio as the founder of the Hawaiian civic club movement and proponent of the Hawaiian Homestead Act. Admission is free. 593-9650.

Willie K. and the full moon

Island favorite Willie K., master of everything from rock and blues to Jawaiian and traditional Hawaiian music, kicks off the second season of Aston Full Moon Concerts, 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Kapi'olani Park Bandstand. Vocalist Jan Brenner and the band Ten Feet also will be featured. It's free. 931-1400. Future concerts will take place May 24 with Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom, July 26 with Na Leo Pilimehana and Oct. 25, performers to be announced.

A righteous concert

"Pono: A Conscious Concert for a Righteous Cause" will feature the Makaha Sons, Sista Robi Kahakalau, Guy Cruz, Lopaka Colon, Kahala Moon and others. A "Native Sounds of the Underground" portion will include Kupa'aina, Lahaina Grown, Kawai Hoe, Leimaile and Katana. The concert is a benefit for Hawaiian charter schools and the Pono campaign to create a Hawaiian charter school district and provide multiservice, multi-agency learning centers for Hawaiian communities. It takes place 5-10:30 p.m. Wednesday at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa Center for Hawaiian Studies. Tickets are $10. 832-3594.

Aces of bass

An eight-day program of concerts, master classes, lectures and public forums will comprise the second biennial Hawaii Contrabass Festival, Saturday through March 31. The festival, hosted by the Hawai'i American String Teachers Association, brings current and former members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Juilliard School of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, New York Philharmonic and Dusseldorf Symphony to share their art and expertise. The festival is aimed for all bass players, including children; the public is invited to the concerts, which include:

• Glen Moore, contrabass, and Peter Rockford Espiritu, dancer, 8 p.m. Monday, Orvis Auditorium, University of Hawai'i-Manoa. $15 general, $10 students and seniors, free for festival participants.
• Mark Deutsch, solo bazantar, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Atherton Studio, Hawai'i Public Radio. $15 general, $12 students, seniors, HPR members.
• Rufus Reid and Friends, jazz, 8 p.m. March 29, Orvis Auditorium. $15 general, $10 students and seniors.
• Francois Rabbath, soloist, with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, in the world premiere of "Nine Variants on Paganini," by Frank Proto; 4 p.m. March 31, Blaisdell Concert Hall. Free for festival participants. The concert also repeats at 7:30 p.m. April 2. Tickets are $15-$55. 792-2000.

Free concerts include, at the Kamehameha Schools Performing Arts Complex (except for the final concert listed below), include:

• Mark Deutsch, 4 p.m. Sunday.
• The Honolulu Jazz Quartet and Peter Askim and Robert Pollock, 3 p.m. Monday.
• John Gallagher and Darel Stark, music for contrabass and violin by Frank Proto. Proto will discuss his work, with musical illustration by Iggy Jang and Francois Rabbath, 4 p.m. Tuesday.
• Terra Nova (Michael Gorman, Vicki Gorman and Steve Dinion), new music for contrabass, percussion and voice. Rufus Reid will play and discuss the role of the jazz bassist in today's music, 4 p.m. Wednesday.
• Bassists Bruce Hamada, Glen Moore and Ben Wolfe, with pianist Jim Howard, 4 p.m. Thursday.
• Students from Tainan National School of the Arts and 2000 scholarship winner Valerie Ngai will perform ensemble and solo works, 4 p.m. March 29.
• The festival's faculty and students will perform, 3 p.m. March 30, Orvis Auditorium. Free.

239-0406.