Ko Olina Beachfront Penthouse

The Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, located about 30 minutes from the Ko Olina Beach Villas and Resort, offers a fireworks display every Friday night.  The display is visible from several view points along the Waikiki Coast all the way to the Diamond Head area.  While visitors can watch the fireworks from the Hilton Resort itself, easy access to the display is also available from a number of seaside bars and restaurants.

The show lasts about 15 minutes total and begins around 7:45 pm every Friday.  Visitors interested in watching from the Hilton have the option of purchasing tickets for $20 to the Rockin’ Hawaiian Rainbow Revue show, which includes a hula performance and live music before the fireworks display.  The show begins at 7:00 pm.  Tickets can be purchased at the entrance to the Super Pool.  For more information, check out http://www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com/resort_activities/entertainment_and_events.cfm.

The Gallery at Ward Center on Ala Moana Drive near the Ala Moana Shopping Center, about 30 minutes fom the Ko Olina Beach Villas, is hosting an exhibit entitled “Threads and Amorphous Dreams” until April 24.  The exhibit features works by Doug Young, a gallery artist, Charles Valoroso, a photorealist painter, and Jon Vongvichai, a ceramic sculptor.  Young and Valoroso have created the pieces that relate to “Threads”, while Vongvichai is responsible for the “Amorphous Dreams” component of the exhibit.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.  For more information, check out http://www.gwcfineart.com/Home.html.

Famous for their shortbread cookies, the Honolulu Cookie Company is located in the heart of Honolulu, just 30 minutes from the Ko Olina Beach Villas and Resort.  The Honolulu Cookie Company prepares charming pineapple-shaped cookies in a variety of flavors, including butter macadamia, dark chocolate coconut, Kona coffee, and other natural flavors from the Hawaiian islands.

Themed cookie packages are available for special occasions.  Gift bags, boxes, and towers can also be purchased for a special somebody.  The company has a cookie of the month option to ship an assortment of cookies to anywhere in the US on a regular basis.

For more information, check out www.honolulucookie.com or call (866) 333-5800.

The East West Center in Honolulu, just 30 minutes from the Ko Olina Beach Villas and Resort, is hosting an Ainu Treasures Exhibit to examine Northern Japanese traditions now though May 5.  The exhibit celebrates the Ainu indigenous group by showcasing their art and culture.  Featured works include handicrafts, ceremonial objects, and various other Ainu masterpieces.  The exhibit will also have videos to demonstrate the Ainu artistic process and share more information about the greater culture.

The exhibit is part of a cultural revival spearheaded by Ainu artists designed to replicate existing artifacts and incite a greater curiosity and awareness of the culture.  The term Ainu is derived from the word for “human” in the Ainu language.

For more information, check out www.arts.eastwestcenter.org.

Dole Plantation, located in Wahiawa just thirty minutes from the Ko Olina Beach Villas, offers a variety of family-friendly activities that are both educational and enjoyable.  The Dole Plantation was established as a tourist venue in 1950 for visitors interested in learning more about the pineapple cultivation process.  Today, it includes pineapples as well as bananas, papayas, and apples.

The Garden Tour also visits traditional herbal medicine plants and a range of tropical flowers.  Aditionally, guests can enjoy the Pineapple Express, a train tour through the plantation that narrates the Dole family history, key milestones in Hawaii’s pineapple production, and other interesting facts.  The plantation also boasts the world’s largest maze, a three acre masterpiece built from some 14,000 Hawaiian plants.

The Dole Plantation is open from 9:30 am to 5 pm daily.  Admission is free, but there is a fee for key attractions.  For more information, check out www.dole-plantation.com.

Based at the Kahala Hotel and Resort in Honolulu, just 30 minutes from the Ko Olina Beach Villas and Resort, the Plumeria Beach House is a seaside, open air restaurant.  Plumeria offers a large brunch spread that includes gluten free French toast with a homemade Kahala maple butter, decadent pancakes, and a wide assortment of fresh tropical fruits and juices, as well as award winning lunch and dinner options, such as the Kahala Burger or braised lamb shank cassoulet.  Guests may also enjoy creative outdoor cocktails made from fresh ingredients.

A full breakfast buffet is offered daily for those with the heartiest of appetites.  A seafood buffet is offered every Friday and Saturday evening.  Full menus can be found on the Plumeria Beach House website, http://www.kahalaresort.com/dining/plumeria-beach-house.cfm.

The restaurant is open from 6:30 am to 10 pm daily.  To make a reservation, call (808) 739-8760.

The Bishop Museum, located just 30 minutes from the Ko Olina Beach Villas and Resort in Honolulu, will host the Nisei Congressional Gold Medal Exhibit now through April 14.  The exhibit recognizes the contributions of Japanese-Americans (or “Nisei”) in combat during the Second World War.  Seven museums throughout the United States will host the rotating exhibit.

While many of the recognized soldiers were engaged in combat, their friends and relatives were being held in internment camps, a testament to their commitment to the war’s cause.  The exhibit is designed to increase awareness of Japanese Americans’ contributions to the American war effort.

Admission costs $19.95 for adults, $16.95 for seniors, and $14.95 for children.  The museum is open from 9 am to 5 pm Wednesday to Monday.  For more information, check out www.bishopmuseum.org.

Dolphin Quest offers nine different packages for guests to swim with dolphins in Oahu.  Based at the Kahala Hotel and Resort just 30 minutes from the Ko Olina Beach Villas, each program is designed to provide an intimate experience with some of the ocean’s most beautiful, intelligent creatures.

Popular packages include the Family Swim Program, designed for a family of five, or the Dolphin Adventures, which includes an hour of swimming, feeding, and other interaction with the dolphins.  Through their interactions, guests are often able to learn the distinct personalities of the dolphins.  Programs vary in size and duration.

Dolphin Quest is open from 8:30 am to 5 pm daily.  Reservations are recommended.  For more information, check out www.dolphinquest.com or call (808) 739-8918.

The Gallery of Hawaii Artists will host an exhibition featuring the work of Emily Sewell at the Waikiki Landmark Building in downtown Honolulu, about 30 minutes from the Ko Olina Beach Villas and Resort.  The exhibition, “Embodied”, incorporates ink, fabric, sewing needles, and thread to depict Sewell’s ideas of reality, emotion, and self awareness.  Sewell also performs to add an interactive, live component to the exhibit.

The exhibit is designed to emphasize the human experience as told through both visual media and physical communication.

The exhibit runs on weekdays.  For more information, check out http://www.galleryofhawaiiartists.com/ or call (808) 447-8908.

The Foster Botanical Gardens was first established as the private garden of Hawaii resident and botanist, William Hillebrand, in the 1850s.  It was later sold to the Foster family, who maintained the gardens.  After the land was sold to the City and County of Honolulu in 1930, it was opened to the public.

The gardens are home to a wide range of exotic flora with entire terraces devoted to New and Old World orchids, palms and ginger plants, and herbs, dyes, and poisonous plants.  A butterfly garden serves as an open air habitat for native butterfly species.

Today, the gardens are open to the public from 9 am to 4 pm daily.  General admission costs $5 for adults, $3 for Hawaii residents, and $1 for children.  The gardens are located just off Nuuanu Boulevard, about 30 minutes from the Ko Olina Beach Villas.