The Outrigger Reef on the Beach has opened an exhibit in the hotel lobby that highlights the Hawaiian traditions of canoe building and voyaging.

The "Canoe Hale," open daily and free to the public, is a collaborative effort of the Outrigger Reef and The Friends of Hōkūle'a and Hawai'iloa, Mission Houses Museum and Bishop Museum.

The exhibit includes the steering paddle from the voyaging canoe Hawai'iloa, as well as a replica of the Hawai'iloa made by master woodworker Wright Bowman Sr.

Also featured is the Kaiolahia, a traditional racing canoe (circa 1915) restored by master canoe artisan Tay Perry, an adz or koi stone-cutting ax, a canoe cross section with lashing, mother of pearl traditional fishing lures, a conch shell from the Cook Islands and a lei hulu (feather lei), hung high atop the boom of the canoe's sail when it is under way.

KONE INC. ACQUIRES AKAMAI ELEVATOR CO.

Kone Inc., an international elevator and escalator company, said it has acquired Akamai Elevator Co., an elevator service based in Honolulu.

Kone said in a news release that it will absorb Akamai's operations under the Kone name this month.

WEB SITE DEDICATED TO BIG ISLAND FOOD

The Hawai'i Homegrown Food Network has launched a Web site dedicated to building a "local and sustainable food economy" on the Big Island.

The address for the site is: http://hawaiihomegrown.net.

Since early 2009 the network has produced a monthly newsletter chronicling events, Web site resources, reports about island groups' activities, and announcements related to local food sustainability and security.

The new Web site builds on that and includes an events calendar, resource lists and a blog. The site also features a community page where home growers, farmers, and wholesalers to retailers, restaurants, support organizations and consumers can interact with each other.

HISTORIC PRESERVATION FORUM THURSDAY

A roundtable forum on the economic benefits of historic preservation is scheduled for Thursday at the Hawaii State Capitol Auditorium.

The event will begin at 7:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast. A panel discussion on the benefits of heritage tourism is scheduled between 8 and 9 a.m.

Speakers will include Mike McCartney, head of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority; Dale Hahn of Princess Cruises and Holland America; Mary Philpotts McGrath of the Washington Place Foundation; and Pono Shim, head of Enterprise Honolulu.