SATURDAY SCOOPS
Somber story graced by Japanese

Advertiser Staff and News Services

At Sand Island, a camp was hastily set up immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Internees spent their first six months there housed in open-sided tents. Japanese Cultural Center of HawaiÎi

An internee is photographed at the immigration station. "Dark Clouds" documents camp life in Honouliuli and on Sand Island during World War ll. University of Hawai'i Hamilty Library

'Dark Clouds Over Paradise: The Hawai'i Internees Story' Opening 1-4 p.m. today, with reception 1-3 p.m. Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i Continues through July 31. Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays (closed on Kamehameha Day) Free

Now a new exhibit, "Dark Clouds Over Paradise: The Hawai'i Internees Story" at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i depicts life in the camps with first-hand accounts and artifacts.

It opens today with a reception — including a performance of camp songs by the Taisho Boys (former Honouliuli internees Harry Urata, Shozo Takahashi and Chojiro Kageura) — at the center's Community Gallery. Former internees and their families plan to attend and share their stories; the public is invited to the free reception, too.

The Japanese Cultural Center hopes the exhibit prompts others to contribute their stories in an ongoing study of the internment.

"Dark Clouds" launches a series of summer events at the center themed "A Challenge to Civil Rights." Admission to the events is free:

• June 19 (10-11:30 a.m.): "My Interned Youth at Arkansas and Arizona." Patricia Nomura will offer a slide show about her experiences and of others from the Big Island who were taken to Jerome, Ark., and Gila River, Ariz.
• June 26 (10-11:30 a.m.): "Internment Camp Songs and Stories," featuring the Taisho Boys. Other entertainers will perform songs written by former Hawai'i internees who have died. English translations will be available for the songs performed in Japanese.
• July 3 (9 a.m.-noon): "Challenges to Civil Rights in Threatening Times." A panel will share historical background on the Hawai'i and Mainland internment experience. History Day contestants and students from O'ahu high schools will also present displays related to civil rights and internment.
• July 17 (12:30-2:30 p.m.): "Ganbare!" Signing of the reprinted, re-released Patsy Saiki book on internment, "Ganbare! An Example of Japanese Spirit."
• July 22 (6-8 p.m.): "From Sand Island to Santa Fe." Gail Y. Okawa, professor of English at Youngstown State University in Ohio, will share her memories of her grandfather, who was interned in Hawai'i, and her research on the internment experience.

Gotta see 'Idols'? Get tickets today

Get your tickets today — and fast! — if you hope to see those "American Idol" finalists in the just-announced third concert at 7 p.m. Sept. 30 in the Blaisdell Arena. Two other concerts sold out faster than you could say "pitchy."

Hawai'i's own songbirds, Jasmine Trias and Camile Velasco, will perform, of course, along with the other eight finalists.

Tickets — $48 each — go on sale at 9 a.m. today at the box office and Ticketmaster outlets, including Times Supermarkets. Purchases may also be made by phone at (877) 750-4400, or at www.ticketmaster.com.

Thrill factor pumps up 'Scream Machines' at Bishop Museum

OK, so maybe we in Hawai'i don't have a big old theme park with a nasty roller coaster. That doesn't mean we aren't interested in those thrill rides that take you up, up, up and then down and all around (gulp, there goes the tummy!).

The Bishop Museum's traveling exhibit opens today. But you can save a whole lot of admission fees if you head for the museum's Family Sunday event, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. tomorrow. Sunday attractions include entertainment, food booths, inflatables and crafts, and you get to wander around the other exhibits, too.

Admission is $3 for kama'aina and military, and free for museum members and children under 3. Bank of Hawaii employees and customers with one guest get in free with an employee ID, Bankoh card or Bank of Hawaii check.

"Scream Machines" continues through Aug. 29.

The G-Force Bicycle Ride, which takes riders on an 18-foot loop, is part of the "Scream Machines: The Science of Roller Coasters" exhibit at the Bishop Museum.

'Bend it Like Beckham' on the beach

Tonight's featured film is "Bend it Like Beckham" (pictured), the winning tale of young Indian girl in London who wants to become a soccer star. The film is being screened in conjunction with GiRL FeST, a multimedia event that aims to prevent domestic abuse.

GiRL FeST activities, 2-5 p.m., include free sports workshops for women and volleyball on the beach with past and present college players; a concert by Doria Roberts at 5 p.m.; and dance by Halau Lokahi Hawaiian Public Charter School, Sequoia Carr-Brown and guests at 6 p.m.

Tomorrow's movie is the film farce "Scary Movie 3," starring Charlie Sheen and many others, including Queen Latifah, in cameo appearances.

Tomorrow's Sunset on the Beach begins at 4 p.m.

The movies are shown after the sun goes down. Admission is free.

Say farewell to the Impressionists

It's the final weekend of the exhibit "Japan & Paris: Impressionism, Postimpressionism and the Modern Era" at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. There you'll see works by European masters Matisse, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cézanne and others, and by Japanese artists.

Admission is $15 general, $10 for kids 6-17, free for museum members and children under 6. Tickets are issued on a timed basis and are nonrefundable. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. tomorrow. 532-8719.