Roy W. Hamilton, curator of Asian and Pacific Collections for UCLA's Fowler Museum of Cultural History, the originator and principal organizer of "The Art of Rice," will be on hand for opening events in the Luce Gallery. Hamilton will tell stories of Asia's rice goddesses in a free event at 2 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Doris Duke Theatre. No reservations; first come, first served.

Also planned is a Bank of Hawaii Free Sunday, "Food for Thought! Rice!," set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 20. Admission to the academy will be free, and there will be keiki activities, Asian music performances, rice tasting, cooking demonstrations, gallery hunts and other events throughout the day.

For the grownups, ARTafterDARK presents an Art of Rice event, 6 to 9 p.m. March 25. Admission is $7 and includes sake tasting, gamelan (Indonesian orchestra) performances, Indonesian dance performances, music and "zip-tours" of the "Art of Rice" exhibit.

Also under discussion are films that dovetail with the exhibit and possibly an Indonesian puppet presentation, according to Charlie Aldinger of the Academy.

Entries are being accepted for the Island Art of Rice writing contest: creative short pieces — essays, poems, memoirs, fictional stories — on the subject of the place of rice in Hawai'i culture. Readers are invited to write, fax or e-mail their entries (see story for details). Three winners will be published in The Advertiser on Feb. 20 and the three writers will receive family memberships to the Academy, free admission to the "Art of Rice" exhibit, as well as rice prizes from The Advertiser.

Extol the virtues of sushi or mochi cakes, recall your first experience of Uncle Ben's after a lifetime of Hinode, share your thoughts on rice pudding or living on the rice-scarce Mainland.

For more on rice, see story from Wednesday's Taste section.