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In the news: Museum, bookmobile, high heels

By Staff | Sep 24, 2015

The Women Helping Women West Maui Task Force invites the community to participate in the fourth annual Walk A Mile in Her Shoes on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 10 a.m. to noon at Whalers Village in Kaanapali. In this annual men's march against domestic violence, men will walk a couple of laps in high heels to help raise awareness of the problem, and by their participation avow that it is not okay to hit women and children.

LAHAINA (via Chicago) – So, what is new and exciting in Lahaina Town? There is a lot, and when you are involved in the community as we are, the e-mails and phone calls keep coming, even though we have been “on vacation” here for three months. We are selling or donating the contents of an entire lifetime of accumulation, including 21 boxes of books, furniture and even historic letters from a relative in Great Falls, Montana that are 100 years old.

A NEW FINE ARTS MUSEUM? Lois Reiswig, actively involved in the “en plein air” art week in West Maui and host of a monthly luncheon meeting for ladies who are movers and shakers in town, wants community input for her idea of starting a fine arts museum here. This likely would be done in coordination with the Lahaina Arts Society.

Reiswig sees it as a place that would display fine art – some from the collections of locals who have been assembling art for many years – and where you could bring children and learn about the local art scene. The idea is in its early stages. Keep an eye on these pages for a news story one of these weeks on how to get your own views known.

It seems to this writer that a fine arts museum would add to the richness of our art scene and supplement what visitors and locals can see at our fine galleries on “Friday Night is Art Night.”

A Lahaina art museum could have one gallery, for example, that would tell the story of gallery pioneers like Jim Killett and artists like Guy Buffet, who built our town into a place that has more galleries per-capita in the U.S. outside of Santa Fe. Another gallery might showcase Lahaina and its role as a magnet for international artists who have made their home here.

If there is enough money, there could even be an interactive touch screen display like one seen in a Chicago museum. People could vote on their favorite Maui artists of all time. The computer would track all of the answers and display the votes in real time at the top of the screen. (This might be too expensive for our blood, though).

SALUTE TO THE MCKAYS – Ruth McKay, an early president of the West Maui Taxpayers Association and longtime volunteer with LahainaTown Action Committee and Soroptimist International of West Maui, and her husband, Joe, were feted recently for their years of community service. The two are moving to the lower 48 states following longtime Lahaina News food critic Helen Reed and her husband, Rob, who moved to California last year. The usual reason: family is there, and the Reeds (in their 90s) need to be close to Mainland-style medical care. Some 50 people showed up, including Joan McKelvey and Connie Sutherland, who have worked with Ruth closely for decades.

NEW BOOKMOBILE MOVES FORWARD – The Maui Friends of the Library and a committee that includes Susan Wiener of Wailuku Public Library has selected superstar designer Sae of Wailuku to create art on wheels. Sae Design is working on concepts to cover the bookmobile with images and art for this libary on wheels. The committee recently selected a name for the vehicle, which will be announced in due course.

MORE WOMEN POWER – Women Helping Women is at it again with its fourth “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes,” to be held on Oct. 3 at Whalers Village to raise funds for programs that help victims of domestic abuse. Seen last year in high heels were Ka’ala Buenconsejo, now head of the county Parks Department; Kahu David Kapaku of Toastmasters; and the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset’s Jim Fahnestock. This is an event not to be missed.

Columnist’s advice to men not accustomed to high heels, based on experience: Do not walk on the grass. Spiky high heels and grass do not go well, unless you want to stick it out at the event for a long time.

Columnist’s Notebook: The column is adopting a new term that once was used a lot around here: “the lower 48.” It was recently pointed out that the term “Mainland” implies that Hawaii is secondary, not the main place. For us, the Mainland is… guess where? Lahaina, Kula, Lanai -you name it.