The House of Fire is awesome! Nestled in next to Uncle Robert's Market, this place is a hidden gem…read more Their storefront is filled with all sorts of work (jewelry, photography, paintings, pottery, blown glass, and more) made by local artists. I would definitely recommend stopping in to check out their beautiful selection and watch magic in action in their Live Glass Blowing studio. Great choice to stop in on Wednesday before hitting the epic night market right next door!

I absolutely recommend to stop by this art gallery and check out all the amazing artist work. Also…read moreask about glass blowing lessons... totally worth trying! The service and friendliness from all the staff makes you feel like family.

Garimo's Real Soap Studio and Classroom is a treasure hidden in the mountains of Santa Cruz. Not…read moreonly is the product truly amazing but the artisan Garimo is also an amazing person. He is very patient as a teacher, and is the impetus behind the First Friday Felton Art Walk. His shop is a delight to walk into because of the lovely scents of soap making with pure essential oils, and sustainably sourced, natural ingredients. You simply can't go wrong by buying soap and bath products from greatbarsofsoap.com. If you are lucky enough to live nearby, you can visit his shop and take his classes.

We ordered custom bars of soap as wedding favors. Our friends and family loved the soap! Garimo…read morecreated 3 scents and custom labels for our special day. We've received a ton of positive feedback on the soap - gentle, effective and long lasting. Garimo was pleasure to work with and I highly recommend his soap! Cindy

Leandra is amazing! My son has attended many paint & snack classes as well Spring Break classes…read more During the week long class he made a variety of things, including a mural, learned to make a lei po'o, snow globes & even Christmas gift of drink coasters! He has enjoyed the variety of what was offered and we continue to sign him up at any classes offered to his age! Recently my entire family (husband, daughter & son) attended a family oriented paint & snack/sip and we had so much fun! Leandra was patient with the large group, provided positive and amazing help to the group and had given everyone some one on one time! We had so much fun I am planning my own private party and have had fun working with Leandra in planning this event! Leandra works with you as well as offers different prices that are all affordable. My intention was always to have my son involved in with Circle of Life and never thought I would enjoy the classes as much as I did and look forward to attending more events! Anyone who hasn't attended a class should reach out to Leandra and plan something, they won't regret it!

From the owner: Circle of Life seeks to inspire creativity in students of all ages and levels. We have classes for…read moreToddlers, children ages 5-12, teens and adults including the elderly and college students. Check it out monthly calendar for all the amazing classes we have available. Discounts for kama’aina, colleges students, elderly over 60, and siblings.

We saw a thought-provoking, well cast production of the musical "Next to Normal." It was an…read moreimpressive cast, and the venue lent itself to sharing cultural arts. The seats are comfortable. The restrooms and vendors are hope more arts programming continues in this space. It's an asset for the community!

Young at Art is a student art exhibit which will be at the Hawaii Museum of Contemporary Art,…read moreA.K.A. East Hawaii Cultural Center until March 26. This yearly event showcases so many beautiful and amazing pieces of art created by students all over the Big Island. Every piece in this exhibit is so awesome, but I just couldn't take my eyes off of this spectacular ceramic octopus. Wow..

I stayed at Kalani for 11 nights. I rented a cottage with meals and activities, aka the Kalani…read moreExperience. Then I participated in a Yoga is for Every Body retreat. I walked to the meals from my cottage, and up to the pool almost daily. It was a beautiful and peaceful walk. I was concerned at first but my body quickly adapted. The meals were amazing. I had never experienced such a healthy and delicious cuisine. Most of it was locally-sourced and organic. They had lots of vegetarian options as well as vegan. That's not to say they didn't have wonderful desserts every night with dinner. I participated in several yoga classes. They have all kinds; fast, slow, Vinyasa, Yin, you name it. But they also have cultural classes on Lei making, hula dancing, salsa dancing, permaculture hikes and more. I was not bored for even a moment. If anything I needed to take a nap a couple times during the day for having been so active and busy. The people were friendly and helpful with lots of information about the locals and the community of Pahoa. They took us to Uncles market a local market/party every Wednesday night. If you have the option to do so I would also highly recommend staying at kailani for the Open Mic at least once it's fabulous. The pool is lovely but be fore-warned its clothing optional and there's a lot of nudity. There are lounge chairs to sit in and there's even a sauna area and changing rooms. I enjoyed two massage sessions while I was there. One was an apprentice massage which was just fine and very relaxing, the other was a Lumi Lumi Hawaiian massage which was amazing and different and just... quiet an experience. I would recommend it to anyone. I hope to return next summer on a sabbatical which is 30 days of participating in the community and it includes all of my lodging and meals and some massage work as well. It was hard to leave.

I didn't make for the E-dance or Holiday Festivities or New Years Festivities but I met some people…read morewho partook in them and expressed a good time. I went for a yoga class led by Marcia, 90 minutes flew by. There's places to stay, a store etc

They offer ceramic classes, sell clay and tools for sculpting clay, and have a great selection of…read morejewelry, ceramics, and other kinds of art that are done by local artists. REVIEW #281

I've been taking classes here for a few months now and really enjoy it. The facility is well…read moreorganized and clean. It's fun to learn and socialize. I especially appreciate the open studio times. My first two classes were with Shannon, who is a force of nature. One needs to have a lot of strength and determination to have a ceramics studio open for as long as she has in an area like Hilo. At times she can be a bit gruff but she's had to put up with a lot of careless students who don't pay attention and cause tremendous damage (destroying kiln shelves, destroying plumbing, etc etc etc). Just have some patience and don't take her tough love personally and you'll be right as rain. I love this place and am super grateful to have a space to learn how to throw. Also, she sells equipment, clay and glazes for those who are setting up their own space.