Kaanapali Makai Watch and CORAL will host a cleanup at Kahekili Beach Park beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15. The event will also serve as a supply distribution site for any Kaanapali area hotels or condos that would like to participate in the Hawaii Hotel Coastal Cleanup Challenge. Resorts may go to http://www.coral.org/cleanupchallenge for information. Kaanapali Beach Hotel employees are pictured from the 2011 cleanup.

Disability Alliance Issues Forum set

WAILUKU – The 17th annual Maui Disability Alliance Issues Forum will be held Thursday, Sept. 13, at the Maui Waena Intermediate School Cafeteria at 795 Onehee Avenue from 4 to 6:30 p.m.

Maui government officials and candidates have been invited to participate. Mayor Alan Arakawa; County Council members Gladys Baisa, Elle Cochran and Michael Victorino; Senators Shan Tsutsui, Roz Baker and Kalani English; and State Representatives Joe Souki and Angus McKelvey have confirmed their attendance.

The public is invited to this free event. There will be light refreshments and a panel discussion on employment, transportation, education, early childhood, medical and housing issues. Officials will take questions from the audience.

People with disabilities and their families will be able to share their experiences.

Kristen and Myron Purdy open the door to their new house in Waiohuli, Kula. Habitat for Humanity Maui presented them with their house keys and a Bible during their blessing celebration. Family and friends volunteered more than 2,000 hours during the last ten months for this young family of four. Aloha Mixed Plate in Lahaina provided lunches, and family members provided desserts and snacks. For information on Habitat for Humanity, call 242-1140 or visit www.habitat-maui.org.

For more information, call James Mariano at the Aging and Disability Resource Center at 270-7349 or Mary Matsukawa at the State Council on Developmental Disabilities at 984-8218.

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Fundraiser fair celebrates church anniversary

WAILUKU – The “Restoring Our History” Ho’olaule’a will mark the 180th anniversary of Ka’ahumanu Church.

The free event is set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15, on the 103 S. High St. church grounds in Wailuku.

Napili Kai Foundation teaches local children the history, arts, crafts, language and dances of Polynesia. Every Tuesday evening at Napili Kai Beach Resort, 5900 Lower Honoapiilani Road, foundation students present a delightful program of Polynesian song and dance from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6-12 and free for children five and under. Call 669-6271.

Entertainment will include Ola Hou with Kevin and Sheldon Brown and the Na Leo Lani O Maui Choir under the direction of Gale Wisehart.

Ten booths will offer crafts and food – pulehu steak plate, chili and rice, banana lumpia, poi mochi, pickled onions and chili pepper water. There will also be a rummage sale and a silent auction featuring lei hulu and kahili, with proceeds benefiting the church.

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Writing group forming

LAHAINA – Do you have great ideas for your blog, book, column or other project but have trouble making time to actually write?

A free demonstration of advanced Ki-Aikido arts will be presented at the Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center stage on Sunday, Sept. 16, by the Keio University Ki-Aikido Club from Tokyo, Japan. The students train under the direction of Shinichi Tohei Sensei, president of the World Ki Society, who will teach a seminar on Maui on Sept. 14-16. For more information, call 244-5165 or visit www.mauiaikido.com. PHOTO BY C. J. BARENSE.

“Write Now” is an informal group whose primary focus is to get the gears moving, creative juices flowing and to offer some motivation to write.

This group is for all writers – professional, amateur and those who write simply as a creative outlet for themselves.

Feedback will initially be amiable and supportive. As the group begins to gel, members may request more structured analysis.

For the first meeting on Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Lahaina Education Center, Room 104, at 60 Kenui St. in the Front Street Apartment complex, members will introduce themselves and discuss their writing experience and goals.

Participants will take turns reading a short piece or excerpt of their own work for feedback and exchange. After that, each member will set a goal to be completed by the next meeting.

Body in Balance will offer keiki ballet, a ten-week program, through Nov. 15. The classes will include classic ballet technique, terminology and musicality. Students will be able to experience a ballet class format in a studio space with barres and mirrors. Instructors are Heather Goss and Erin Ranta (pictured); both have extensive dance experience. Body in Balance is located at 42 Kupuohi St., F2, in Lahaina. Call 661-1116 or visit www.bodybalancemaui.com.

Members can bring copies of their piece to distribute to the others.

If you would like to attend, sign up via meetup.com or contact Marti Wukelic at 662-3911 for more information.

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Event to support Somos Ohana Nicaragua

PAIA – Enjoy pizza at the Flatbread Company in Paia from 5 to 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 18, and help build a school in rural Nicaragua.

Partial proceeds of every pizza sold will go to Somos Ohana Nicaragua, a Maui nonprofit that partners with small Nicaraguan villages to build schools and bring health services, scholarships, bikes for high school students and more.

See Nicaraguan crafts for sale and a silent auction with many valuable prizes. For information, call Charlotte or Dan Flavin at 572-9898.

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Danielle Bergan shares life story in new book

WEST MAUI – West Sider Danielle Bergan, a Maui resident of 35 years, released her memoir, “It’s Always Okay To Be Me, A Journey to Recovering Lost Hope,” on Aug. 15.

Bergan will hold a book signing at the Maui Friends of the Library Book Store in The Wharf Cinema Center on Saturday, Sept. 29, from 4 to 6 p.m.

The former director of sales for the Maui Chamber of Commerce as Daniel Bergan from 2003-08 seeks to raise awareness of Transsexualism through sharing her life story.

“Those individuals who suffer from Gender Identity Disorder (the cause of being transsexual) often lead secret lives full of loneliness and despair. Many turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with it; others simply commit suicide to relieve themselves of the insanity they deal with on a daily basis,” she said.

“It is my wish that my story will offer those who are afflicted like me hope that it is possible to successfully and happily live in the gender your mind always told you that you were.”

Robert Lindsey, president and CEO of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, endorsed Bergan’s book by saying, “Recovery from alcoholism and addiction brings many gifts, including the clarity of thought needed and necessary to confront one’s personal struggle with sexual identity.

“In ‘It’s Always Okay to be Me, A Journey to Recovering Lost Hope,’ Danielle Bergan captures the struggle of sexual identity clouded by active addiction to alcohol and drugs. And, in a very powerful way, documents the extraordinary benefits of recovery. For anyone who knows someone struggling with addiction, sexual identity or both, this book offers incredible insight and delivers a powerful message of hope, help and healing.”

For information, or to order a signed copy of the book, go to itsalwaysokaytobeme.com or to Amazon.com. Her memoir will also be available in September on Amazon Kindle.

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LHS Foundation to host Annual Meeting

LAHAINA – Lahainaluna High School Foundation will host its Annual Meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 18, in the Samuel M. Kamakau Library at LHS.

Registration begins at 5 p.m. followed by the LHSF business meeting starting at 5:30 p.m. The West Maui community is invited and encouraged to attend to hear the latest news on the various projects and programs facilitated by LHSF.

The meeting will feature the president’s report, executive director’s report and development coordinator’s report.

Lahainaluna High School Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 2002 to provide “a superior high school experience for all Lahainaluna students.”

For information on the meeting, call LHSF Executive Director Matthew Erickson at 661-5332 or 283-2411.

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SPCA Maui offers $20 spay/neuter surgery for dogs

MAKAWAO – Dogs of all sizes and breeds may be spayed or neutered for a $20 donation in September thanks to a grant received recently by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Maui.

Procedures will be performed by locally participating veterinarians. To register, call 280-0738 or e-mail info@spcamaui.org. Dogs must be at least four months old, and there is a limit of five dogs per owner.

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Celebrate Mayor Alan Arakawa’s birthday

KAHULUI – The public is invited to help Mayor Alan Arakawa and friends celebrate his birthday on Thursday, Sept. 20, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Yokouchi Pavilion.

Entertainment will include Ekolu and rock legend Mick Fleetwood and his Island Rumours Band.

Featuring a buffet dinner, the event is a fundraiser for the Friends of Alan Arakawa. Tickets are $20.

For more information, contact Lynn Araki-Regan at 244-6042 or lynn@arakawa2014.com, or visit www.arakawa2014.com.