The Volcano Art Center (VAC) is proud to announce
Christmas in the Country: Annual Wreath Exhibition
November 29 – December 31, 2024
With warmest winter wishes and happiest holiday greetings, the Volcano Art Center welcomes all to the 25th Annual Christmas in the Country celebration starting Friday, November 29th. Featuring the Annual Invitational Wreath Exhibit that continues through December, 31st, 2024. Christmas in the Country promises an abundance of art and aloha to kick start your holiday season. VAC Gallery in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park creates a merry scene of an old-fashioned Christmas inside its 1877 historic building. The festivities this year spill beyond the park into VAC’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. Plan to attend the Annual Volcano Hui Tour, a community tree lighting and acapella Christmas Carols at VAC’s Niaulani Campus on Friday, November 29th.
Both locations will showcase the exquisite artwork Volcano Art Center has become known for year-round, plus you’ll find unique holiday offerings of island-inspired gifts, ornaments and decorations made by Hawai`i Island artists. The concurrent Annual Wreath Exhibit presents one-of-a-kind wreaths in a variety of imaginative media, techniques and styles, from the whimsical to the traditional. This year’s theme “Sunrise To Sunset” reflects VAC’s 50 year commitment to creativity in our community!
The exhibit will also be available for viewing on VAC’s website upon opening. For more information please call (808) 967-7565 or email sales@volcanoartcenter.org
Volcano Art Center (VAC) is proud to announce the exhibition “Transfiguration, The Art of Mydock, on display from January 11th – February 16th, 2025. The exhibit is a retrospective exhibition of Mydock’s paintings, sculptures, collaborations and wood lathe-turned vessels. The gallery is open daily, 9am -5pm in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. Meet the artist at the Opening Reception on Saturday, January 11th from 2-4pm or at a live demonstration on Saturday, January 25th from 11am -1pm. All events take place at VAC Gallery in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. While the exhibit is free to attend, park entrance fees apply.
The exhibit will also be available for viewing on VAC’s website upon opening. For more information please contact Emily C. Weiss at (808) 967-7565 or email sales@volcanoartcenter.org
Thursday Night at the Center with Drew Downs
Have you ever looked at a geologic map and wondered how the different colors are determined and what they mean? Geologic mapping has been one of the most fundamental mandates of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) since its establishment in 1879. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologic mapping on the Island of Hawaiʻi focuses on volcanic vents (such as fissures and scoria cones) and their associated lava flows and tephra deposits divided by age. Geologists use different criteria to tell these deposits apart, requiring countless hours of field work and lab analyses, and the deposits are represented on geologic maps by different colors. Join Drew Downs, geologist at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, as he describes the art and science that goes into creating a geologic map for the USGS. (This presentation will be repeated at UH-Hilo on January 29.) USGS map: Geologic map units of lower Puna District, Island of Hawaiʻi. Location: Volcano Art Center Niaulani Campus Dieterich Varez Hall, 19-4074 Old Volcano Road, Volcano, 96785 (https://volcanoartcenter.org)
Thursday night at the Volcano Art Center, focusing on art, Hawaiian culture, and our environment. The series is intended to inspire, and enhance your appreciation of art and life experience, while fostering community connections. This presentation is free, although a donation is greatly appreciated.
Hula Kahiko: Featuring: Hālau Nāwehiokaipoaloha under the direction of Kumu Ipolei Lindsey-Asing
Originally from the uplands of Haleakalā on the island of Maui, Kumu Ipolei Lindsey-Asing completed the rigorous training of ʻūniki under her Kumu Hula, Nāpua Silva, and was recognized and accepted as one of three new Kumu Hula in July, 2021. In January 2023 in ʻŌlaʻa, Hawaiʻi, Hālau Nāwehiokaipoaloha officially held the very first papa hula for keiki, ʻōpio and wāhine. Welo Foundation which helps support Hālau Nāwehiokaipoaloha and itʻs endeavors is dedicated and committed to perpetuating our Hawaiian culture and traditions.
The performance will take place in a one-of-a-kind outdoor setting at the kahua hula (hula platform) in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park located in the grassy area in front of the Volcano Art Center Gallery. Audience members are encouraged to bring sun/rain gear and sitting mats and arrive early to receive parking at the Kīlauea Visitor Center. Overflow parking is available at the Steam Vents parking lot. National Park entrance fees apply. Please call (808) 967-7565 with any questions regarding the exact location on the morning of February 8th.
2025 marks the 20th year of the annual Love The Arts gala!
This year’s, Love The Arts: “A Symphony of Wings,” takes place on Saturday, February 15th, from 5pm to 8:30pm at Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village.
The VAC board of directors, staff, and event committees are filled with anticipation as we prepare to make this beloved gala our finest yet. “Golden Circle” premium ticket packages including champagne, front row seating, overnight accommodations, and breakfast are available for patrons wishing to make the night extra special.
As a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization, Volcano Art Center relies on annual events such this gala to raise essential operating funds.
For More information
Get Your Tickets Now!
General Ticket $125 VAC Member Ticket $100 Golden Circle Ticket $500
Thursday Night at the Center : A Song for Nicholas
Honoring a Legacy: The Story behind the Short Film” A Song for Nicholas” by Eddie & Myrna Kamae
In November 1993, revered Hawaiian musician and filmmaker Eddie Kamae, along with his wife Myrna, visited Volcano, Hawaiʻi, to prepare for a presentation of The Hawaiian Way: Slack Key Documentary. Fresh off its premiere at the Kennedy Centerin Washington, D.C., the film was set to be showcased across the islands as part of the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival. These events brought together the Sons of Hawaiʻi, who performed live music in an unforgettable way.
During their stay at Kilauea Lodge, the owner approached Eddie with a special request: a benefit concert for the office manager’s baby, Nicholas, who required a life-saving operation in San Francisco. Known for his selectivity in choosing charitable causes, Eddie felt a deep connection upon meeting baby Nicholas and knew he had to help. Upon returning to Honolulu, Eddie teamed up with his lyricist, Jay Larrin, to create the heartfelt song”Baby Days,” which was performed at the benefit concert. The event was a tremendous success, reflecting the profound impact the Sons of Hawaiʻi and the community support for Nicholas’s future.
Eddie Kame’s dedication didn’t end there. Over the years, he stayed in touch, checking on Nicholas’s progress. This short film, narrated by Nicholas’s siblingsSteven and Jesse Coney, tells the touching story of those days and the creation of “Baby Days”. As we honor Eddie Kamae’s legacy, we are proud to share Nicholas’s story and the music that inspired it, fulfilling Eddie’s wish to bring this heartwarming chapter to light.
Thursday night at the Volcano Art Center, focusing on art, Hawaiian culture, and our environment. The series is intended to inspire, and enhance your appreciation of art and life experience, while fostering community connections. This presentation is free, although a donation is greatly appreciated.
Unulau, a hālau hula under the direction of Kumu Hula Pele Kaio
Saturday, March 8, 2025| 10:30am
The Volcano Art Center’s Hula Kahiko program continues on Saturday, March 8th at 10:30am with a performance by Unulau, a hālau hula under the direction of Kumu Hula Pele Kaio. The performance is part of a year-round series sponsored by the Volcano Art Center at the kahua hula (hula platform) near the Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
Unulau means “The multitudes of UNU”. UNU is a name that is shared by all hālau born from Unukupukupu. Unulau is anchored in the philosophy, teachings, and fire traditions of the hula ʻaihaʻa. Unulau continues to promote and perpetuate ʻike (knowledge) and education through hula – hula is the platform by which we engage, inspire, and inform our relationship to the environment and the spirit.
The performance takes place, rain or shine, in a one-of-a-kind outdoor setting in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Audience members are encouraged to bring sun/rain gear and sitting mats. National Park entrance fees apply.
To donate to the Hula Arts at Kīlauea programs or to find out more information please contact Emily C. Weiss at info@volcanoartcenter.org or visit www.volcanoartcenter.org.
Join Heather Penfield on Saturday, March 29, 2025 , from 9am – 11am., for the Cooking with Canoe Plants Part 3 Workshop at Volcano Art Center Niaulani Campus.
In this workshop you will learn the history and uses of the first edible plants brought to Hawaii and explore five or more different canoe plants and how to prepare them. You will gain hands-on experience making recipes from start to finish. Including a salad, main course and dessert.
Dicuss the nutritional , social and economic benefits of buying locally grown produce.
The class will include: class handout with recipes.
You will be using in season produce which includes:
Ulu (breadfruit), Uala (sweet potato), Olena (turmeric), Kalo(taro), Ko(Sugarcane), Mai’a(banana), Niu (coconut), Ohi’a ai (mountain apple), & Ki (ti) and other locally grown produce
All New Recipes! Beginners are Welcome!
The class fee is $60/$55 for VAC members plus a $25 supply fee
Volcano Art Center’s Hula Arts at Kīlauea performance series continues on Saturday, April 12, with a hula kahiko performance featuring Kumu Lehua Bray hālau o Maunalei. The performance is part of a year-round series sponsored by the Volcano Art Center. Hula hālau from across Hawai‘i are invited to perform each month. The hour-long performance begins at 10:30am at the kahua hula (platform) in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Park entrance fees apply.
Lelehua Maunahina Bray was born in Kealakekua, Hawai’i, named after her great-grandmother, Lydia Maunahina Dusson -Bray, a composer, entertainer, and hula exponent she was destined to be a part of hula. Lelehua ‘ūniki graduated in 2001 from Kumu Hula Michael Pili Pang and taught within his school for five years before taking the reins of her own hālau in 2009. “My contribution to my community is to share Hula as I have been taught from my lineage.
Hālau Maunalei is located in Kealakekua and shares hula with students from Keiki to Kūpuna. The Hālau continues to participate in many community events throughout Kailua-Kona and Hawaii Island!
Kumu Hula Lelehua’s mission has always been to teach others to love and embrace the traditions and the art of hula passed down to her!
The presentation is presented authentically in an outdoor setting, rain or shine without electronic amplification. Audience members are encouraged to bring sun/rain gear and sitting mats, and to arrive early as parking at the Visitor’s Center is limited, additional parking is available at the Steam Vents parking lot
The Volcano Art Center is a non-profit art and educational organization created in 1974 to promote, develop, and perpetuate the artistic and cultural heritage of Hawai‘i’s people and environment through activities in the visual, literary, and performing arts. Visit www.volcanoartcenter.org
Mahalo!