Dale Zarrella - Maui Sculptor, Painter, Artist

One day last March as we were walking down to Charley Young Beach for a snorkel and some afternoon sun, we glanced to the north and spotted what appeared to be a huge wooden statue, so we decided to go closer and see what it was. 

We were immediately in awe as we drank in the most spectacular wooden sculpture of a mermaid, obviously a work in progress, surrounded by coral, turtles and other sea life. The mermaid was looking up with abandon towards the sky, while her long hair flowed carelessly behind her.  The detail in the unfinished carving was simply amazing so we can't wait to see it in all its glory after completion.

The artist was nowhere around, so when I got home I did a google search and found out his name is Dale Zarrella and that he creates his masterpieces from an inspiring location on his Maui oceanfront property, just north of Charley Young Beach in Kihei.
I read that there are collections of his works at the Grand Wailea Resort, the Makena Golf and Beach Resort and at the Frank Lloyd Wright designed King Kamehameha Golf Club.  One of his famous pieces is a bronze statue of Father Damien, which was completed in 2012 and blessed by Pope Benedict XVl at the Vatican.  He apparently began this sculpture with a plaster study, and a bronze cast made from the study is now at the Vatican museum in Rome.  The life sized sculpture fashioned out of Koa wood will eventually end up in the Honolulu Damien museum.  I watched a very interesting video, of Dale Zarrella speaking about all the research he did before starting the sculpture.  He puts his whole heart and soul into every piece he creates and finds out all he can about his subject before he begins to work. For example he visited the leper colony of Kalaupapa on Molokai, several times before he started that project.
I also learned that he gives a guided tour of four of his major works at the Makena Golf and Beach Resort each Wednesday evening.   The free tour lasts around an hour and you have the choice of staying on for a private dinner with the artist for a fee. Phone the resort for more details on this. Our friends went and thoroughly enjoyed it.  They said he was a terrific speaker, very genuine, and exceptionally humble even in light of all his great accomplishments.
His most recent piece, and the one we saw, was started in April of 2013 from a 5000 lb. old Monkey Pod tree stump.  

  
Dale Zarrella  brings his18 years of experience working as caretaker of a turtle sanctuary on the Big Isle, to Maui, and this apparently is what inspired him to paint and carve the sea life of Hawaii.  His paintings can be found in many galleries and private collections around the world.
What a treat to find out about this extremely talented and diverse artist, who works with bronze, wood, stone and paint.  Unfortunately before we left Maui we didn't get a chance to meet him so when we get back we are going to make a point of going to all his galleries and attend his Wednesday night tour.
For more information visit the Dale Zarrella website. Here you will find photos of many of his works and links to his videos. 

If you need a place to stay for your Maui vacation, our Maui Garden House is only a few minutes by car to Charley Young Beach.

Sing-it-Yourself Messiah in Kihei Maui

Last Sunday we attended the 11th Anniversary presentation of the Sing-it-Yourself Messiah, hosted by The Maui Choral Arts Association under the direction of the very talented Celia Canty. This is an annual event for us and we were very happy that this year it was held in Kihei just a stone's throw from our Maui home.
As we entered the Kihei Baptist Chapel we saw signs designating the seating for each section. I made a beeline for the altos, while Les settled in with the basses. Members of the Maui Concert Chorus wore a sparkly lei and were spread out amongst us visitors for support.

The choruses were accompanied by a 12 piece Baroque style chamber orchestra comprised of local musicians and guest Martin Berinbaum from Canada, who thrilled us all with his trumpet and piccolo trumpet accompaniment to soloist Robert Wills' exceptional performance of "The Trumpet Shall Sound".

What a combination they made!!! Robert Wills has an amazing range and his powerful voice was a pleasure to hear as he sang both tenor and baritone solos. Soprano Lisa Paulson, and alto Karyn Sarring held their own as they tackled the very difficult and lengthy runs that the music offers.

It is always a treat to witness the energy that radiates from Celia Canty as she skillfully and interchangeably conducts the audience, orchestra, soloists, and choruses.

Other guests were the UH Maui College Chorus and the Suzuki - Maui students under the direction of Teresa Skinner. The Suzuki students were delightful as they performed carols in the lobby during intermission and also joined the orchestra to accompany the finale of the Hallelujah Chorus. I get goose bumps each time I am part of this amazing piece of music and this year was no exception right down to the last Hallelujah!

As always this uplifting experience was a glorious way of getting us into the Christmas spirit.
During the second half of the program the Maui Concert Chorus joined by the University of Hawaii - Maui College chorus, gave us a little taste of their upcoming Symphony of Carols concert, as they sang the lively calypso-carol "The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy" This concert will also be held at the Kihei Baptist Church on Saturday December 10th at 7 PM. Tickets can be purchased at the Maui Choral Arts Website or by phone 800-838-3006. They can also be obtained at the Topaz Goldsmith in Dolphin Plaza, Kihei.

MCAA is a non profit organization and they welcome any donations to enable them to keep providing such high quality entertainment on Maui. Visit the webiste of Maui Choral Arts Associaton for more information.

Gian Don's Italian Bistro in Kihei, Maui

We have adopted Gian Don's, an Italian Bistro just a block from our condo, as our neighborhood pub and one of our Favourite Maui Restaurants. The staff is very efficient and a lot of fun, and getting to know the locals at the bar is reminiscent of the TV sit com "Cheers".

The restaurant building is just like a Mediterranean villa with Roman pillars, and has big airy wide open doors, perfect for bringing in the tropical surrounds.

Owner Debbie Defanis, tells us that she named the restaurant after her two grandsons, Gianni and Dant'e and that Gianni's Mom is the main chef in the restaurant. We know from experience what a fabulous chef she is!!!The food is billed as affordable contemporary Italian cuisine with a splash of Maui and it is delicious. My favourite entree is the basil pasta and my husband enjoys the Gian Don's Opakapaka. They also serve wonderful pizza, great appetizers such as brushetta or shrimp scampi and their ceasar salad is to die for!! Check out their menu here.
On Sunday afternoons between 4:30 and 8:30, Gian Don's features Sunset Jazz with various talented musicians. It is here that we met Gord and Joyce, our favourite Maui Jazz Duo. So, If you enjoy live background music and great food, mark Sundays on your calendar.

Billed as Maui's most exclusive restaurant and club party site, you can reserve the restaurant for private functions such as meetings, weddings, and banquets with accommodations for up to 290 people. Smaller groups up to 30 can reserve the patio for private dining.

Gian Don's proudly flies a rainbow flag, the worldwide symbol of the LGBT community and every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday starting at 10:00 PM the place rocks with late night entertainment. For example on Saturday April 11, there will be an Ultra Fab Easter Candy theme party with a Bonnet Contest. Sounds like a blast!!! For more information about this fascinating restaurant visit the Gian Don's website.

A wonderful condo to rent in Kihei is The Maui Garden House.

Favourite Maui Beaches

It is a fact that Maui beaches are rated among the best in the world, and water sports are unsurpassed. Kaanapali Beach is one of our favourite beaches, and here you can either walk for miles on the sand, or take a leisurely stroll along a pathway, which extends from the Hyatt, through Whaler's Village and ends up at the Sheraton Hotel. Black Rock, a popular snorkeling spot with a nice sandy beach is directly in front of the Sheraton. If you cut through the Sheraton, the walkway continues and goes to Kahekili Beach Park (formerly called airport beach). There is good reef just to the right, in front of the Maui Westin Resort. Here we have seen green sea turtles, lots of colourful fish, octopus and moray eels. The nice thing about this beach, is that because it is a state park it has washrooms, showers, picnic tables, BBQ pits and a large parking lot.
A couple of other West Maui beaches worthy of note, are Kapalua (see photo), and Napili, both great family beaches and snorkeling spots. Napili is terrific for boogie boarding, and our kids still have great memories of the fun they had playing in the waves.

Charley Young Beach - Kihei

Kihei, on the south side of the island, also boasts some outstanding beaches. As you make your way south along South Kihei road, you will come to attractive Charley Young Beach, just across from the Maui Vista.

After that you will come to the Kama'ole Beaches I, II and III. These beaches are very family friendly, with life guards, showers, and lovely golden sand.

The last and perhaps nicest Kihei beach just before turning up to Wailea is Keawakapu. Here you will find a wide expanse of beautiful sand both on the beach and in the water, making it perfect for swimming, walking or building sand castles.

Wailea Beach Walk

A beautiful beachwalk, similar to the one in Kaanapali starts at Ulua Beach, and goes all the way up to the Fairmont resort. This makes for a wonderful morning or sunset walk and a great place to spot whales. As you make your way along the walkway you will cut through beautiful Wailea beach in front of the Grand Wailea hotel. If you walk in the evening you may even be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of some of the luau entertainment going on at a few of the hotels.

Big Beach in Makena is one of Maui's better known and most popular beaches, with its wide expanse of sand and great conditions for swimming, snorkeling, sun bathing and playing in the waves.

Black Sand Beach in Hana

There are of course many more lesser known Maui beaches which also have merit, including a black sand beach in Hana.
I didn't go into all the snorkeling places in this blog and will save that for another time.

If anyone has a favouite Maui beach to share with us, please do leave a comment on this blog.

If you are coming to Maui and need a place to stay, contact us about our Maui Garden House.