The 51st annual Makawao Parade is scheduled for Saturday, July 2. The Makawao community has come together to coordinate this Upcountry community and paniolo tradition with a Stick Horse Race at 8:30 a.m. for all ages. The Grand Paniolo Independence Day Parade begins at 9 a.m. The theme for this year’s parade is “Honoring our Heritage.”

Lahaina News writers win three SPJ awards

LAHAINA – Lahaina News writers won three awards in the Society of Professional Journalists-Hawaii Chapter’s 2015 Excellence in Journalism Awards.

The winners were announced at an event on June 24 in the Manoa Grand Ballroom on Oahu.

In the Editorial Opinion category open to all media, Walter Chihara was named a finalist for “State needs to grasp importance of the LHS Boarding Department.”

In the Nondaily Newspaper General News/Enterprise Reporting contest, Louise Rockett was honored as a finalist for two articles in a series: “Experts: Bold, fast action needed to save Maui’s reefs,” and “Researchers: Steps can be taken locally to protect Maui reefs.”

Maui Economic Opportunity Inc. recently installed its new board of directors at an event held at the Kahili Restaurant. The keynote speaker was County Councilman Riki Hokama, and Dr. Lori Teragawachi installed the new officers: President Kevin Yoshida, Vice President Ned Davis, Treasurer Cliff Alakai and Secretary Adele Rugg. Pictured, from left, are: Alakai, Hokama, Davis, Rugg, Yoshida, Teragawachi and MEO CEO Lyn McNeff.

Rockett was also a finalist in the Nondaily Newspaper Community Reporting contest for “Commuters surprised by state work on Highway 30 at Olowalu.”

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Olowalu brush fire scorches 1.5 acres

OLOWALU – On Saturday, June 25, at 9:50 a.m., firefighters responded to a brush fire at the Maui Paintball field near milepost 16 of Honoapiilani Highway in Olowalu.

At 10:07 a.m., Lahaina firefighters arrived at the Maui Paintball field and found about 1.5 acres of grass and brush burning to the rear of the facility.

Wayne Brady will perform on Thursday, June 30, in the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theater at 8 p.m. Music and comedy are at the center of Brady’s successful and diverse career. He has been entertaining audiences with his singing, acting and improvisational skills for well over a decade. In 1998, his career took off with “Whose Line is it Anyway?,” for which he won an Emmy Award. He went on to host his own syndicated talk show, “The Wayne Brady Show,” for two seasons and was honored with two Emmys. In 2005, Brady returned to his first love, musical theater, and starred in the Broadway production of “Chicago,” playing the role of lawyer Billy Flynn. He made a big splash in Las Vegas with his hit stage show “Makin’ It Up,” which was heralded as “pure genius” and “hysterically funny.” Brady again returned to live theater in 2010, when he joined the all-star cast in the Neil Patrick Harris directed “Rent” at the historic Hollywood Bowl. Conquering stage and television was not enough for this unique talent. He was nominated for a Grammy in 2008 for his single, “A Change Is Gonna Come,” off the debut album “A Long Time Coming.” Tickets are $30, $40, $50 or $60; call 242-SHOW.

An engine, ladder crew and water tanker from Lahaina brought the fire under control at 10:47 a.m. and called it extinguished at 11:17 a.m.

Crews were not able to determine the cause of the fire. The charred remnants of a drone aircraft were found near the center of the burned out area, but it’s not known whether the drone was related to the fire or if it had already been there prior to the blaze.

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Lahaina Arts Society featuring art by Joseph Demaree

LAHAINA – Joseph Demaree will be the featured artist in Lahaina Arts Society’s Banyan Tree Gallery from July 5-31.

On July 5, the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset invites the public to a talk by award-winning writer Toby Neal, author of the bestselling Lei Crime Series. Neal’s talk is entitled “Creating from Passion: How I Wrote a Bestselling, Award-Winning Mystery Series.” The series follows multicultural Detective Lei Texeira and explores the crimes and issues of Hawaii. The series has sold over one million copies and spawned a licensed fan fiction world on Amazon. The club’s community speaker series takes place during meetings on the first, third and fifth Tuesday of the month at the Royal Ocean Terrace Restaurant at the Royal Lahaina Resort from 5 to 6:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

There will be a reception to meet him on Friday, July 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. For information on when he will be in the gallery, phone LAS at 661-0111.

Attending the San Francisco Academy of Art, Demaree was influenced by the early Dada and Surrealist artists.

Currently living in Makawao, he is a plain air enthusiast. Haleakala inspired a series of multimedia Lava paintings that are abstract and lucid.

When the time to sunset is near, the colors skirting on the edges of our field of vision spark another series Demaree calls “Sunsetting.” The visions have always relayed their stories to his imagination.

Dr. Nancy Lins, a naturopathic physician in Lahaina, has been invited to present her book, “Baby Blues: A Naturopathic Approach to Postpartum Health,” at the International Conference of Naturopathic Medicine in Barcelona, Spain on July 1-3, 2016. Her book is available at Amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble.