The Great 4-D Movie Ride at The Shops at Mauna Lani has launched its ”Shop ‘N Ride” appreciation program.

Shoppers earn a free ticket to see one of six features at Hawaii’s only 4-D theater with any purchase from participating stores, including “Haunted Forest,” a Halloween-themed ride exclusively showing in September and October. For movie details and times visit www.TheGreat4DMovieRide.com or call (786) 320-8884. For program details call (808) 885-9501.

Have you been to Pu‘ukoholā?

Pu‘ukoholā National Historic Site is Hawai‘i’s largest heiau (temple) and was built under the order of Kamehameha I to appease the war god Ku. Once the hillside heiau was complete, Kamehameha sacrificed a rival, and set sail to unify all the Hawaiian Islands under his rule. Pu‘ukoholā “Hill of the Whale” is located between the Kohala Coast resorts and Kawaihae off Highway 270. The founding of the Hawaiian Kingdom can be directly associated with this one sacred structure. Open daily 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding federal holidays. Visit www.nps.gov/puhe.

The Kalapana Lava Viewing Area, located at the end of Highway 130 in the Puna District, affords a great vantage point to see molten lava. Conditions change daily, but visitors to the safe viewing area have been awed by the fury of roaring steam and exploding lava gushing from the black lava plain into the roiling ocean, adding more and more land to “the Big Island.” Open daily from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., but no cars are allowed into the parking area after 8 p.m.

Call the Kalapana Lava Viewing Hotline (808) 961-8093 for current conditions or visit volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/activity/kilaueastatus.php for Kīlauea Volcano eruption updates.

On Saturday, September 18, 2010, the United Nation’s International Day of Peace, there will be a live Poetry Slam for peace, with a special appearance and booksigning by peace advocate and U.S. Army veteran Paul Chappell. A West Point graduate and Iraq veteran, Chappell is appearing throughout Hawai‘i for statewide Peace Day events as part of his world book tour.

It’s from 5-7 p.m. at Feel My Bean coffee house and restaurant in Honoka‘a. Admission is free, with gourmet coffee, local organic pupus and other great menu items available for purchase.

As for the poetry slam, Darron Cambra, Faith Angelica Pascua and Tuia’ana Scanlon will represent the award-winning Youth Speaks Hawaii group, which has twice been national Youth Poetry Slam winners, and has been featured on HBO.  Slam poetry is a freeform, upbeat style of creative writing, often performed with hip hop moves or rapid rap-style delivery.

Also on September 18, from 1-3 p.m. there will be a free, open-to-the-public workshop conducted by Youth Speaks Hawaii poets at North Hawaii Education Resource Center (NHERC).

Are you a genealogy buff? This weekend only, the online genealogy site ancestry.com is offering free access to its immigration records. It’s through September 6, 2010.

Ancestry.com is THE genealogy site. I have used it in the past. It has U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992, Ellis Island oral histories, Boston Passenger and Crew Lists from 1820-1943, and more. They say it’s the world’s largest online index of immigration records, and I believe them.

The free Waimea Paniolo Parade and Ho‘olaule‘a is on Saturday, September 18, 2010. It starts at 10 a.m. with the Paniolo Parade, which begins at Church Row, continues to Waimea Park, and features princesses representing each island on horseback with attendees (complete with Pooper Scooper brigades).

The parade is followed by Island foods, games, arts & crafts, Hawaiian products and live entertainment in Waimea Ball Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Note that the road will be closed for one hour.

For more information, call 936-4376 or see hawaiiislandfestival.org.

The Hawaii County Fair is coming up. This year the annual fair, which is sponsored by the Hilo Jaycees, takes place at the Hilo Civic Fairgrounds September 16 – 19, 2010. It’s on Thursday and Friday from 5 p.m. to midnight, and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The Kailua-Kona Public Library is holding its next book sale on Saturday, September 11, 2010 on the library lanai. Proceeds help fund educational and entertainment programs, community summer reading programs, visiting authors, magazine subscriptions, CDs, DVDs and new book purchases. It’s from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

They are also looking for volunteers to help with the set-up and sale. For more information, call 322-0077 or email FOLK@folkhawaii.com.

Subway has its Fiery Footlong value meal offer on right now through 10/3/10. It’s $8 for your Fiery Footlong, a drink and chips.

It’s all bamboo, all day long at Papaikou Hongwanji on Sunday, September 12, 2010.

From 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.,  learn about bamboo construction of a covered pergola, which will be raffled off.

From 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., Josiah Hunt of Bio-char Hawaii demonstrates Bio-char technology for Hawaiian ag/horticulture. Bio-char is a 2000-year-old practice that converts agricultural waste into a soil enhancer that can hold carbon, boost food security and discourage deforestation.

From 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Bobby Grimes demonstrates bamboo building construction and joinery techniques.

And from 2 to 3 p.m., Jim Parker demonstrates bamboo furniture making techniques. Tools, bamboo treatment, joinery and finishing will be discussed.

For more information, contact Donna at 557-7669 or jaymanion1@msn.com.

The North Hawaii Education & Research Center, at 45-539 Plumeria St. in Honoka‘a, offers a free presentation featuring rare underwater footage of humpback whales. Adam Pack of UH-Hilo gives a tour of his new research lab and disusses opportunities to be involved with research in the new lab.

It’s on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 from 6:30 – 8 p.m. For more information, call 775-8890 or email nherc@hawaii.edu.

Join a Baskin-Robbins Facebook group or create your own, and once you have 31 people in the group, you each get a free scoop of ice cream.

Baskin-Robbins details here.

You may not have heard that Saturday, September 25 and Sunday, September 26, 2010 are National Alpaca Farm Days.

You may visit your own local alpaca farm from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on those days. That would be the Big Island Alpaca Farm, located at 94-2088 South Point Rd. in Na‘alehu. It’s an event to meet alpacas and learn more about them.

I had to look up what an alpaca is, too. From Wikipedia:

Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance.

Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile at an altitude of 3,500 m (11,500 ft) to 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea-level, throughout the year.^[1] Alpacas are considerably smaller thanllamas, and unlike llamas, alpacas were not bred to be beasts of burden but were bred specifically for their fiber.

For more information, call Tess Wilkinson at 640-4927, email bigislandalpacas@gmail.com or see www.bigislandalpacas.com.

On Friday, September 10, 2010, visitors and residents can enjoy a Nature Photography Stroll in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park with renowned wildlife biologist/photographer Jack Jeffrey.

Bring your camera or binoculars for an hour-long, easily navigated stroll along the rim of Kilauea caldera. Jeffrey communicates the ecology and geology of the region while offering tips on how to capture it all on camera.

Meet at the Volcano Art Center Gallery, located next to the park’s Kilauea Visitor Center. There are two start times: 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sign-up is on a first-come, first-served basis. No pre-registration is offered. Free (Park entrance fees apply). Call (808) 967-8222, or email programs@volcanoart-enter.org for more information.

On Monday, September 6, 2010, Labor Day, it’s the Up Country Faire in Kealakekua from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s at Christ Church, at the bottom of Konawaena High School Road, and it’s free. Organizers want you to know that it’s 3,000 square feet under cover, so it’s on come rain or shine.

There will be family fun activities, such as: games, prizes, bouncy castle, keiki phony rides, climbing wall, face painting, balloon animals. The Great Barusky will present a free magic show, and Country Cafe will be selling local-style plates. The Sugar Shack will sell baked treats, homemade preserves and chutneys.

For more information, call 323-3429, 328-7345 or email bjkoala@pendragonhawaii.com.