THROUGH JUNE 8

SPOLETO FESTIVAL IN S. CAROLINA

If you're headed South Carolina way this week or next, check out the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, or make plans for next year's; the celebrated annual arts festival runs through June 8 this year and is set for May 22 to June 7 in 2009. Described by the Toronto Star as "the continent's No. 1 festival," Spoleto offerings include opera, dance, musical theater, stage productions, jazz, chamber and symphonic music. This year, opera presentations include "Amistad" and "La Cenerentola." The theatrical piece is "Monkey: Journey to the Wes",

an adaptation of a 400-year-old classic of Chinese literature. www.spoletousa.org.

— Advertiser staff

JUNE 13-14

KAHALA FOOD & WINE

This month, Kahala Hotel & Resort will introduce one of the first new food festivals in the Islands in some years (others, such as Big Island Bounty and Cuisines of the Sun, have slipped away): The 2008 Kahala Food & Wine Classic June 13-14. Guest chef is Cindy Hutson of Ortanique on the Mile in Coral Gables, Fla. Winemaker in residence will be Island favorite Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat in California. Cigar aficionado Michael Herklots from Davidoff of Geneva in New York will be on hand. And master of ceremonies is Fred Schrader, a co-founder of Colgin-Schrader Cellars and his own Schrader Cellars. Events include an opening party with Hutson and Amy Ferguson of the Big Island on June 13 and, on June 14, an interactive cooking class with Hutson, a wine pairing afternoon with Clendenen and a "Cigar Conversation" with Herklots.

— Wanda Adams

OCT. 4

JET SPORTING BOATS FINALS

If your idea of fun is a) piloting, or b) watching personal watercraft (aka jet sporting boats), circle Oct. 4 on your calendar. That's when the 27th annual International Jet Sporting Boats World Finals will again be held in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., just an hour or so's drive from Las Vegas. The host is Crazy Horse Campgrounds and the race draws more than 600 racers from 36 nations and 40 states. Lake Havasu, by the way, is where the London Bridge landed after the original structure was replaced. And the Laughlin, Nev., gambling casinos aren't far away, either. IJSBA.com (or e-mail jvr@dsmevents.com); Lake Havasu general tourism, www.golakehavasu.com.

— Advertiser staff