KAHULUI — Culture and Arts Day will be celebrated from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Maui Mall in Kahului.

The event will feature music, dance and dramatic performances, and information booths representing a variety of ethnic and cultural groups.

Entries in the Maui County Sister Cities 2006 Young Artist Competition will be on display at the mall tomorrow through April 11, with video entries screened at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Maui Mall Megaplex. The theme of the competition is "What Does Global Citizenship Look Like?" Winners will receive cash prizes and the winning entry will represent Maui County in the Sister Cities International Young Artist Competition in Washington, D.C.

Sponsors include Maui County, the Pan-American MOA Foundation Inc., 'Ano'ano Gallery and Gifts, Wallace Theaters and Maui Media Lab.

PARK FESTIVITIES TO HONOR PRINCE

WAILUKU — Maui Hawaiian homesteads will celebrate the 135th birthday of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole with a daylong festival Saturday at Paukukalo community park.

An opening ceremony will be at 8:30 a.m., with entertainment, food, arts and crafts, games, keiki activities and a silent auction from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

TEEN DATING VIOLENCE IS TOPIC

WAIKOLOA — Parents, students, educators, community leaders and others can attend a free Teen Dating Violence Prevention Conference from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 7 at the Hilton Waikoloa Village.

The county Committee on the Status of Women is sponsoring the conference with help from the prosecuting attorney's office. Participants include U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo, state Attorney General Mark Bennett, Mayor Harry Kim, county Prosecutor Jay Kimura, Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle and teen victim survivor Rae Anne Spence from Austin, Texas.

To register, write Margaret Masunaga at mkmasunaga @aol.com or Carol Kitaoka at csk96750@yahoo.com, or call (808) 322-2552.

LIBRARIES PLAN SPECIAL ACTIVITIES

Public libraries in Waipahu, Wahiawa, Salt Lake-Moanalua and Kapolei are hosting special activities this week.

Beginning today and continuing on Tuesday mornings through April 25, Waipahu Public Library at 94-275 Mokuola St. will present a free pre-school story time and activities program designed for children, ages 3 to 5, at 10:30 a.m. The 50-minute program will feature stories read aloud, sing-along songs and playtime activities. Children must be accompanied by a parent or caregiver.

Author Carolyn Choy, 93, will host "The Way to Chinese Health," a one-hour program on how to promote longevity through diet and tai chi exercises, Thursday at 2 p.m. at Wahiawa Library, 820 California Ave. The free program is suitable for ages 12 and older.

Salt Lake-Moanalua Library at 3225 Salt Lake Blvd., is presenting the two-hour workshop "Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library" on Friday at 10 a.m. It is designed to teach parents and caregivers of infants up to age 2 how to develop six critical pre-reading skills to prepare their child to enter school ready to learn to read.

Friends of Kapolei Library will have an outdoor book sale Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to benefit Kapolei Library. Most hardcover books will be sold for $2 and most paperbacks will be priced for $1. The sale will be in a tent on the front lawn at the corner of Manawai and Haumea streets from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 693-7050.

TEAM ADVANCES IN LEGO COMPETITION

A team of eight home-schooled students from Palolo, Kaimuki, Manoa, Hawai'i Kai, Wai'alae Iki and Saint Louis Heights won the local First Lego League competition, a national robotics competition for students ages 9 to 14.

The team — Spiders — will represent Hawai'i on April 27 in a tournament in Atlanta of 80 teams from 30 countries. The group needs to raise $20,000 by April 1 to cover travel expenses.

The annual competition requires teams to design, build and program computerized robots using the Lego MindStorms Kit. This year students were required to create a robot to complete an ocean-related task.

To donate or for more information, contact the team's coach, Kevin Dang, at 738-1708 or at spidersrobotics@yahoo.com.

KALAELOA MAN IN U.S. HOUSE RACE

Michael Powers, a sheet metal worker and aspiring poet who lives in Kalaeloa, has filed papers to run in the Republican primary for the 2nd Congressional District.

Powers said his platform would address the homeless living at parks and beaches, encourage bicycle commuting as an alternative to driving, and support research on alternative fuels such as hydrogen. Powers ran unsuccessfully for Honolulu mayor in 2000.

The district seat is being vacated by U.S. Rep. Ed Case, who is running against U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

TEENS CAN APPLY FOR ARTS AWARD

The National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts is accepting applications for the 2006 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts award. High school juniors are encouraged to apply for an awards package of up to $10,000 each.

NFAA awards exceptional student artists from across the United States in nine disciplines: dance, film and video, classical, pop and jazz music, photography, theater, visual arts, voice and writing.

The early registration deadline is June 1. Final registration deadline is Oct. 2 and the deadline to submit audition and portfolio materials is Nov. 1. Those who register online at www.nfaa .artsawards.org before June 1 will receive a 30 percent application fee discount.

Student artists must be high school seniors during the 2006-07 school year. Students who will not be high school seniors are eligible for the award if they are 17 or 18 years old on Dec. 1, 2006. Call (800) 970-2787 or visit www.nfaa.artsawards.org.

POST OFFICE NAMED FOR LATE SEN. FONG

President Bush has signed into law a bill renaming the Postal Service building in Kalihi for the late U.S. Sen. Hiram Fong. Fong, the first U.S. senator of Asian ancestry, was elected to the Senate after statehood in 1959 and served until he retired in 1977.

Fong, a Republican who was also a leader in the Territorial Legislature before going to Washington, grew up in Kalihi. The bill to honor him was sponsored by U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i.