An Evening with Roseanne Barr

A couple of nights ago we were invited to see Roseanne Barr try out her new stand up routine on some of her neighbors in Honokaa. It was a fund raiser for the "Dental Bus" that goes around the Hamakua Coast servicing providing dental care for children. It was an evening of hilarity and great music with friends.

The event was held at the Old Mac Nut Factory, which is now a studio for artists and has a barn space where concerts and events are held. We are lucky enough to be friends with some of the artists who are located in the space as well as friends that own two vacation cottages in Honokaa. Teri Suggs is an artist that I worked with at the Walnut Creek Clay Arts Guild and who moved to the big island several months before we did.

Roseanne has a radio show on public radio, you can find archives and free pod casts here:
Tipping Point KPFK

Roseanne's boyfriend of 7 years is musician Johnny Argent played with several other musicians in the Old Mac Nut Factory. It turned out to be a perfect venue for the pair, who were able to rock the house with music and rib busting laughter. Speaking of rib busting laughter, my ribs ached the next morning from laughing so hard all night.

The evening was a BYOB potluck and as usual the group at the Mac Nut Factory had lots of good food.

In my research, I learned that Roseanne met Johnny after he posted on a forum on her blog back in 2001 and finally won her over. She fell in love with him before ever seeing him and then was pleasantly surprised in 2002 when they finally met. I think he must be good for her in many ways. For one thing she has gone natural in her hair color and seems to be a little less angry with the world in general. Her comedy is irreverent and occasionally offensive, but it is difficult not to laugh at her views of life,  I especially loved her menopause jokes.

Photo by Sarah Lee

For those of you wondering what kind of  house Roseanne lives in here... I can share this arial view. You can see she is surrounded by plenty of land and enjoys her well deserved privacy. The 46 + acre farm was purchased in 2007. At that time, Roseanne told  Reuters that she had bought a property in Hawaii that grows macadamias, quipping, “I always knew I would end up on a nut farm, and I’m going to.”

And here is the place Roseanne calls home in Hawaii. It is where she gathers her family, enjoys cooking, making her own hot sauce and crackers and other good things.

Party Time!Kick off St.Pat's Weekend in Hawaii

Hawaiians love to have parties. Almost every weekend we have a variety of opportunities to go to at least one shindig or two of some kind.  However, last weekend we were invited to a SERIOUS Party (actually two, but the second one is another post).  My friend Teri Suggs , a fellow ceramic artist from the Walnut Creek Clay Arts Guild who moved here last summer and lives in a fantastic kind of Shangrila North of Honokaa. Their property has several houses and acres of fantastic mature fruit and nut trees. Teri is also a musician and plays the fiddle focusing on celtic music, but I learned on Saturday night that she also is a "Sultry Siren" when she sings. She plays the beautiful sculptural ocarinas that she makes. Teri teaches sculpture and ceramics in Honokaa, you can contact her through her link for more information.

Teri's Saint Patrick's Day Party was so much fun. There were over 60 people there and when we arrived there was a large L shaped tent, filled with candle lit tables and twinkling lights. There was a beverage tent (With abundant Guinness) and inside the house was an array of fantastic foods brought by the guests as well as the Corned Beef and Cabbage provided by our hosts.

We met several fun people and a few darling dogs who were absolute experts in begging for food. Bubba in particular had a great style. He was a huge black lab that looked like he probably had a Great Dane ancestor or two. He had this incredibly large head and sweet face. With those eyes it was difficult to resist not giving him a wee piece of corned beef.  I succumbed.

The entire evening was enchanting, but the best part was the music. Here is a video of some of the music. Teri is featured here, but we were also highly impressed with this clarinet player... she was a real "cat" when it came to playing. I don't know her name, but I am sure Teri will e-mail me with her name when she reads this. Sorry for the low lights, I did not want to spoil the mood for others by adding lighting: