Weekend Promises Sea, Sky and Earth, Wind & Fire

By Vanessa Wolf

We were so close to wishing you a happy Sextilis, but Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar had to go and mess it all up.

Welcome to August, and may it treat you like a friend and not at all like that treacherous Livia.

So enough about old wounds; let’s get down to getting down and taking a look at the events this weekend.

Last Chance to Get That “525,600 Minutes” Song Stuck in Your Head Even Though You Don’t Really Know the Words

You guessed it.

It’s the last weekend to catch Maui OnStage’s production of RENT at the Historic Iao Theater in Wailuku.

RENT is a rock musical which tells the story of a group of young “starving” artists and musicians on New York’s Lower East Side who are struggling to survive and create while living under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.

The musical originally ran in a limited, Off-Broadway workshop production. However, it soon won a Pulitzer Prize and was moved to Broadway, where it ultimately became the ninth longest-running Broadway show of all time.

If you missed it before the curtains closed in September 2008, you can catch the Maui production for the last time this weekend.

RENT will be performed tonight and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $17 to 28 dollars.

Best Excuse to Dust Off Your Jackhammer and Moonwalk Moves

Wailuku First Friday. Courtesy photo

If you head over to the Iao Theater early, you can take in all the local flava that is Wailuku First Friday.

This Friday party features music from “I Want Candy,” a break dancing competition, Magician Brenton Keith and his bag of tricks, Exotic Eye Tattoo Finger Friday, extended merchant hours and local food.

The event starts at 6 p.m., parking will bring new meaning to the word clusterf***, but it’s free and family-friendly.

Best Arty Happening

Who doesn’t love forts, shacks and abandoned homes?

Hmmmmmm….

The filmmaker and the artist. Courtesy photo

Let’s try that again.

The MACC’s first artist in residence, Wes Bruce, has a fascination with forts, shacks and abandoned homes.

He turned that interest into an art installation, creating a space where those themes could literally be explored. Patrons crawled through hidden doors to rooms behind the fireplace, looked at maps of the moon, and typed secrets on old typewriters.

The project was filmed by Bryan Bangerter and a documentary exploring his work and the impact on those who interacted with it airs tonight at the MACC in the McCoy Studio Theater at 6 p.m.

The event is free to the public and will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker and the artist after the film.

Best Way to Encourage a Young Entrepreneur

This Saturday, Aug. 3, the annual Kids, Inc. Business Showcase at the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center will allow 10 kid-run businesses to set up shop for the day.

The businesses you can anticipate throwing money at tomorrow morning are:

• Naughty and Nice Bakery – desserts with a healthy spin, and their recipes;

• All About Monsters – on-site, custom creation of hand-sewn puppets;

• BITE ME! Sweet Sisters Cake Pop Shop – cake pops created by a pair of sisters;

• Pop Up Photo Booth – theme photos with props, including a full honey bear costume;

• Mermaid Twin Co. – handmade bows and up-cycled girls apparel from a pair of best friends;

• Kai Nani Jewelry – handmade jewelry made of shells, sea glass and other finds from Maui beaches;

• De La Mode – fashionable jewelry, including clay charms and fabric bows;

• Cajudoy’s Creations – a brother-sister team selling sewn items, jewelry, creative crayons and more;

• Cupcakes! – with more than a dozen varieties to choose from; and

• Na‘i’s Creative Mind – original artwork.

The young business owners will be allowed to keep any profit made Saturday and all are encouraged to go and buy them out.

The event is free to the public.

Best Way to Remember the 21st Night of September

Earth, Wind and Fire. Courtesy photo

Do you remember the 21st night of September?

Love was changing the minds of pretenders, while chasing the clouds away.

Ohhhhhh yaaaaaaaa.

Earth Wind & Fire will be playing the MACC on Sunday at 7 p.m.

Over the years the lineup has been a bit fluid, but these days includes Verdine White, Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson and “an arsenal of musicians on guitar, keyboards, percussion and horns.”

Earth, Wind & Fire is well known for their showmanship, and they can expect to deliver that alongside a heaping helping of such throwback hits as “Shining Star”,“Can’t Hide Love,” “Getaway,” “September,” “Boogie Wonderland,” “After the Love Is Gone,” and“Let’s Groove.”

Tickets are $65, $79, $89, $129.

Gates open at 4 p.m. or a special pre-show event.