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Kona Brews Up a Festival
for Coffee Lovers
Spectrum staff
Forget Starbucks. If you’re a coffee drinker, Hawaii is the place
to be.
From Nov. 7 to Nov. 16, the Big Island of Hawaii is hosting its
33rd annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, with more than 30 events stretching
from the sandy
shores of Kailua Bay to the coffee fields along the slopes of Mount Hualalai.
Kona has been producing coffee for 175 years, and the weeklong celebration
includes plenty of opportunities to sample the java. Along with the coffee,
there is dancing,
music, tours of coffee farms, art exhibits and lots of food — including,
of course, coffee-based recipes that compete in the festival’s annual
culinary contest.
Other contests include the Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition, which is
like a serious wine-tasting competition, only with java. More than 60 coffees
are entered in this year’s tasting, and an international panel of judges
has been assembled to make the tough decisions. This year’s competition
features a taste-off between organically grown and traditionally grown coffees.
The event, the only coffee festival in the United States, begins with the International
Lantern Parade and Cultural Program on Nov. 7.
More information, including a complete list of events, is available at the
Web site www.konacoffeefest.com.
• GAY
EXPO: The International Gay and Lesbian World Travel Expo is wrapping up its
2003 schedule with a stop at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco on Oct.
23.
Next year, the expo will be held in seven cities, including San Francisco (on
an as-yet-undetermined date) and Los Angeles (March 24). “In today’s
very uncertain travel industry, gay tourism is attracting attention as one of
the most viable and resilient markets like never before,” said David
Paisley, production manager at the Travel Alternatives Group. The expo series,
now in
its 11th year, focuses on trips for homosexual travelers and also raises money
for the National AIDS/HIV Nightline. Admission is $5 and includes a raffle
ticket. More information is available at www.gaytravelnews.com/expo.
• HANDLE
WITH CARE: The Liberty Bell is scheduled to be moved Oct. 9, but it’s
not going far. The symbol of American freedom, and Philadelphia’s most
beloved tourist attraction, will be moved 963 feet from its current spot in
the Liberty Bell Pavilion to a new interpretive center directly across from
Independence
Hall. The change is part of a $315 million redevelopment of Independence National
Historical Park.
• TABLE
FOR FORE: Golf fans might be especially interested in a new restaurant in La
Quinta, in the Palm Springs Desert Resorts. Legendary linkster Arnold
Palmer is scheduled to open the aptly named Arnold Palmer’s Restaurant some time
next month. The 320-seat facility has four dining rooms, a bar and a 100-seat
patio which overlooks a nine-hole putting course and a stage for live entertainment.
The menu will feature “American comfort food,” including steaks,
pot roast, chicken pot pie and beef stroganoff. Dinner is served from 5 p.m.
to 10:30 p.m. daily.
• FAMILY
REUNION: The Buccanneer, a legendary resort on the island of St. Croix in the
U.S. Virgin Islands, is celebrating its 55th anniversary with special
rates and a “family reunion” theme. “For a family reunion,
choose the family-run Buccaneer, where the managers know what it’s like
to be a kid at the resort because they grew up there.” Managers Elizabeth
and Robert Armstrong are the grandchildren of the resort’s founders. Special
packages which include snorkeling the coral reefs of Buck Island Underwater National
Park — an unforgettable experience for anyone who has been there — are
available through Dec. 19. The 138-room resort includes every amenity imaginable.
Detailed information is available by calling 1-800-255-3881 or checking the
Web site www.thebuccaneer.com.
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