World Travel Series goes in-depth to Hawaii

Filmmaker Dennis Burkhart Tickets for “Hawaii: The Pacific Paradise” will be available at the door. One child is admitted free with each paid adult.

With its vibrant people, exotic cultures, exciting history, beautiful seas and scenic wonders, Hawaii has long been one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. 

When noted travel filmmaker Dennis Burkhart set his sights on creating a travelogue about Hawaii, his goal was to capture the uniqueness of the vacation wonderland, going beyond the usual to sites seldom seen. 

It took Burkhart five separate trips to the archipelago to create “Hawaii: The Pacific Paradise,” his intimate look at six of the most beautiful islands on earth ─ Oahu, Maui, Hawaii, Kauai, Molokai and Lanai.

Burkhart will present his travelogue in person at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23 at Rockefeller Arts Center at the State University of New York at Fredonia. “Hawaii: The Pacific Paradise” will be shown in King Concert Hall as part of the World Travel Series sponsored by Fredonia Place. It is part of the 2007-08 Lake Shore Savings Season at the arts center. 

Tickets for “Hawaii: The Pacific Paradise” will be available at the door. One child is admitted free with each paid adult.

Pursuing his love of wilderness areas has led Burkhart to film in more than 85 national parks, often as a director of photography for The Travel Channel. As a filmmaker, he has visited places as diverse as Nepal, Alaska, Easter Island, Kenya, India and Egypt.

 

Burkhart lives in Oregon with his family and heads Encounter Video, which produces award winning national park videos, natural history documentaries and travel programs. His award-winning photographic images have appeared in scholastic publications and National Geographic Magazine.

 

With “Hawaii: The Pacific Paradise,” Burkhart takes viewers back hundreds of years to the time when the Polynesian explorers sailed the open seas in search of new lands. The earliest habitation supported by archaeological evidence dates to the 11th century, while the first recorded European contact with the islands was in 1778 by British explorer James Cook.

At the same time, the travelogue captures the Hawaii of today ─ a sporting paradise where visitors can dive the coral reefs, sail the majestic seas and surf the ocean’s waves.

On Oahu, Burkhart takes viewers to Waikiki Beach, Hanauma Bay, Pearl Harbor, the Battleship U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, Iolani Palace, Honolulu, the North Shore and Punchbowl Crater.

On Maui, highlights include the old whaling town of Lahaina and Haleakala National Park, with its spectacular sunrise at the House of Sun. There is also footage of a drive along the twisting Hana Highway.

On the big island of Hawaii, Burkhart’s lens captures the lava flow at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the black sand beaches and Pu’uhonau ‘O Honaunau National Historical Park, where ancient Hawaiians found refuge.

 

Burkhart also explores the “smaller jewels” in the string of Hawaiian Isles, including Kauai, with the Waimea Canyon, the scenic Wailua River and the rugged Na Pali Cliffs; Molokai, which is home to Father Damian’s historic Kalaupapa, and Lanai, with its beautiful, secluded beaches.