How Do YOU Celebrate? (Part 2)

Aloha!

The second largest percentage of the Asian population in Hawaii is Filipino.

It is thought that the first Filipinos to settle in Hawaii were contract sugar workers in 1906. Today the population of Filipinos in Hawaii is growing very quickly.

I’m sure with the growth of this ethnic group, the number of celebrations or festivals will grow.

For now, I only have information on this one event.

OAHU—

Honolulu Filipino Fiesta and Parade

This festival is held in May and begins in the morning with a parade through Waikiki (starting from Kapiolani Park). Then everyone enjoys an all day fiesta in the park, including entertainment and food. The third part of the celebration consists of Filipino women in Filipiniana gowns marching under flowered arches. Often they are representing historic and religious persons. In 2009 they called this the Santacruzan event. In 2010 it was referred to as The Flores de Mayo.

This celebration may be slightly different each year. Guess I’ll have to fly to Hawaii in May and check it out! Anyone up for the trip???

Enjoy, and mahalo for visiting!

Cheryl

www.cheryllinnmartin.com

Happy Thanksgiving!

Aloha!

And Happy Thanksgiving

I'm taking this day to not post on the celebrations and festivals in Hawaii among the Asian groups, but to focus on Thanksgiving!

What a wonderful time to celebrate our many blessings and to show thanksgiving to our Lord and God.

May your Thanksgiving Day be a blessed and special day as you celebrate with family and friends.

My family will be having Lemon Cake Pie--a recipe from my grandmother! Yummy, yummy! Do you have a favorite family recipe you make at Thanksgiving?

Happy turkey, dressing, potatoes, and pumpkin (or lemon cake) pie!!

Mahalo for visiting!

Cheryl

www.cheryllinnmartin.com

How Do YOU Celebrate? (Part 1)

Aloha!

The largest percentage of the Asian population in Hawaii is Japanese.

Later this year when we get closer to the dates, I will post about Girl’s Day (March 3) and Boy’s Day (May 5)

Other Japanese celebrations in the islands include:

OAHU—

Memorial Day Lantern Floating Ceremony

Held on Magic Island in Ala Moana Beach Park. This is a traditional Japanese lantern floating ceremony to honor ancestors and those who have passed away. Imagine all those lanterns lit with candles floating in the water.

Honolulu New Year’s Ohana Festival

A celebration organized by the Japanese Cultural Center. It lasts all day, and includes entertainment, crafts, books, Japanese food booths (and others too), cultural arts, and martial arts.

Joy of Sake

Samples and exhibits at the Hawaii Convention Center.

HAWAII—

Hilo Festival of the Pacific

Celebrates Japanese influence on the islands. Includes a tea ceremony, arts and crafts, food and contests.

Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival.

Celebrates Japanese culture and includes a parade, bon dancing, Taiko drums, karaoke, art, crafts, and food.

These are just a few of the celebrations. The only ones I experienced when I lived there were Girl’s Day and Boy’s Day.

Have you ever attended one of these festivals, or perhaps one I didn't mention? I’d LOVE to attend all of these celebrations and festivals, wouldn’t you?

Enjoy, and mahalo for visiting!

Cheryl
www.cheryllinnmartin.com

You’re Using WHAT In That Salad Dressing????

Aloha!

Here’s a great recipe for an amazing salad dressing. I’ve halved the recipe, as the dressing lasts only a couple weeks in the fridge. As you’ll see from the photo, it makes a good amount. But, if you love lots of dressing and eat big salads every day, you may want to double my amounts.

If you read my blog on Monday I challenged you to guess the special ingredient in my dressing. Did you get it right?

Papaya Seed Dressing

½ cup sugar

¾ teaspoons salt

1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard

½ cup red wine vinegar (this is what I used, but you could use rice, tarragon, strawberry, or another flavor)

½ cup vegetable oil

less than ¼ cup minced onion (the full recipe calls for ¼ cup)

2 tablespoons of papaya seeds from a fresh papaya (be sure to remove the strings and rinse them)

Place the sugar, salt, mustard, and vinegar in a blender and mix until it is smooth. With the motor running, add the oil in a stream and blend until it is emulsified. Add the onion and papaya seeds until the seeds are the consistency of ground pepper. The dressing should keep for two weeks in the refrigerator.

The seeds give the dressing a bit of zip! My family loved it and we finished this small batch within the two weeks.

The salad I made is Sunshine Salad which has mixed greens and spinach, thin slices of red onion, slivered almonds, dried strawberries, and mandarin oranges. You can add or subtract ingredients as you prefer. Fresh strawberries or blueberries are always good in a salad too. Add the papaya seed dressing and YUM!!!

Starting next week I’ll be talking about some of the ethnic groups and their cultures.

Enjoy, and mahalo for visiting!

Cheryl

www.cheryllinnmartin.com

Who’s Who?

Aloha!

The state of Hawaii has the largest percentage of Asian residents (about 41%) in the United States, but not the largest number of Asians.

Does that surprise you? Probably not, but maybe you’d be interested in the breakdown of those residents.

The largest ethnic group within the Asian population is Japanese.

The remaining are ranked in this order:

Filipino

Chinese
Korean

The rest of the Asian population is made up of a number of ethnicities.A few are (I've included Pacific Islanders here): Hawaiian, Okinawan, Polynesian, Samoan, and Tongan.

Beginning next week I will start posting a bit of information on the main Asian ethnic groups in Hawaii. Celebrations, events, centers, etc.

Until then, join me on Thursday for another RECIPE! This one is a salad dressing. Bet you can’t guess what it’s made from! Winner gets . . . uhh . . . absolutely nothing—I’m not published yet, otherwise I’d send you a book!

Mahalo for reading my blog, and I’d love to hear your comments (or check a box below!)

Cheryl

www.cheryllinnmartin.com

The Long And The Short Of It! Part 2

Aloha!

This is part two of my blog about my main character, Leilani Akamai, and her surfboard. She is thirteen years old and has been surfing since she was about eight. She loves surfing and it pretty good at it. She’s currently using a minilongboard. But what kind of board does she want to get?

She wants to improve her surfing maneuvers, which means she should move toward a shortboard. But, by Leilani’s own admission, she tends to crash and burn a lot when trying new things.

The solution? A soft top board. This will allow her to try new moves without the worry of dinging her board or whacking her head too hard. She also won’t have to worry as much about damaging someone else’s board, and the price will be less for the soft top than a regular board.

The biggest drawback with these boards is their weight. They are heavier than the traditional boards.

For more information on the pros and cons of soft top boards, check out this site:

www.surfscience.com/topics/surfboard-anatomy/materials/soft-tops-better-than-you-think

For more information on the four main types of boards, check out this site:

www.surfing-waves.com/board/types.htm

And this site for a size/surfer weight chart:

www.islesurfboards.com/surfboard-size-and-weight-chart.aspx

Mahalo for reading my blog, and I’d love to hear your comments (or check a box below!)

Cheryl

www.cheryllinnmartin.com

cheryllinnmartin@yahoo.com

The Long And The Short Of It!

Aloha!

My main character, Leilani Akamai, is thirteen years old and has been surfing since she was about eight. She loves surfing and it pretty good at it. But what kind of board does she use? Regardless of brand, colors, and fins, there are several types of boards to choose from.

The best board for a beginner is a longboard (or Malibu) to give the surfer control. Although I don’t know for sure since I was using someone else’s board, I imagine I surfed with a longboard when I lived in Hawaii. If you’ve read my last post, you know that adventure turned out much better than my video game surfing has.

Leilani’s board is 7’ to 8’ minilongboard. She does well with that board, but may someday want to shift to a shortboard (or thruster.) This will allow her to perform more quick maneuvers, but she’ll be giving up some of the control her longboard offers.

Another more mid-sized board is the funboard (or egg—because of the shape.) This is a board Leilani could consider before shifting to a shortboard.

Check back on Thursday for information on the cool board Leilani wants to buy.

For more information on the four main types of boards, check out this site:

www.surfing-waves.com/board/types.htm

And this site for a size/surfer weight chart:

www.islesurfboards.com/surfboard-size-and-weight-chart.aspx

Mahalo for reading my blog, and I’d love to hear your comments (or check a box below!)

Cheryl

www.cheryllinnmartin.com

cheryllinnmartin@yahoo.com

Surfer Girl!

Aloha!

If you read my blog on Monday, you know about my brand new web site I just published. And, maybe you’ve gone to the game page and tried a few of the games???

I tried all the games and failed miserably at the surfing ones. But I was good at the Surfer Girl Dress-Up game, and when I hit the “Done” button, she surfed quite well—unlike my surfers in the other games who always crashed and burned.

Funny, when I lived in Hawaii I surfed and did pretty good with the “baby-sized” waves. Never did graduate beyond that, but at least I had the strength to paddle fast and hard, catch the wave, stand up, and ride it in—Sah-weeeeeeet!!

My main character in The Hawaiian Island Detective Club Series, Leilani, is a big surfer girl. Check out my blog next Monday and Thursday to learn more about Leilani’s favorite surfboard and what kind of new one she wants to buy. I’ll also share some general information on surfboards.

In the meantime, please visit my web site, check out the games and all the pages, then share the site with the kids in your life. After all, everyone loves playing a game with a skateboard-riding gecko! And I bet they’ll be a lot better at the surfing than me! There are other games, including a banana-throwing gorilla, falling coconuts, underwater games, and girl’s dress-up-Hawaiian-style games.

Be sure to sign my guestbook when you visit. A big thank-you to everyone who has already done that and left me a comment. cheryllinnmartin@yahoo.com

Mahalo for reading my blog, and I’d love to hear your comments (or check a box below!)

Cheryl

www.cheryllinnmartin.com

cheryllinnmartin@yahoo.com

It’s A Bird . . . It’s A Plane . . .

It’s A Launching Web Site!!!

Aloha!

Finally! I am working on my Web Site! By the time you read this post, it will be up and running! Please visit at www.cheryllinnmartin.com

I will have information about my Hawaiian Island Detective Club Series (hopefully to be published sometime in the near future) as well as teasers from each of the books and a number of links to fun “Hawaii-related” games. All are kid friendly since my series is written for Middle Graders (approx. ages 8-13.)

Please visit, check out the games and all the pages, then share the site with the kids in your life. After all, everyone loves playing a game with a skateboard-riding gecko! There are other games, including a banana-throwing gorilla, falling coconuts, surfing, underwater games, and girl’s dress-up-Hawaiian-style games.

Check it out and e-mail me. I’d love to know how the kids in your life enjoy the site, the games, and the idea of the series. cheryllinnmartin@yahoo.com

Mahalo for visiting, and I’d love to hear your comments (or check a box below!)

Cheryl

www.cheryllinnmartin.com

cheryllinnmartin@yahoo.com