Though Hawaii became a state in 1959, it wasn’t until July 4, 1960 that the new flag with all 50 stars flew for the first time throughout the country.

Speaking of July 4th, I’d like to wish you a happy Independence Day. If you’re lucky enough to be in Hawaii today, you’ll find many opportunities to celebrate the day in these listings:

• July 4th Fireworks and Events on Oahu
• July 4th Fireworks and Events on Maui, Kauai, & the Big Island

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On November 22, 1935, Pan American Airways offered the  first regular commercial flight from the US mainland to Hawaii. This first regular air service was a 16-hour flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu. Prior to this air service, the quickest journey to Hawaii from the US mainland took five days by sea. (Source) I wonder if folks back then could imagine that the flight duration would be whittled down to today’s length of only five hours from LAX to HNL?  What an improvement, eh?

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It’s 50 days until August 21st. What’s the significance of that day?  On August 21, 1959, President Eisenhower made Hawaii’s Statehood official by signing the proclamation that welcomes Hawaii as the 50th state of the union.

To celebrate 50 years of Hawaii’s Statehood, I’ll be posting an interesting fact about Hawaii each day between now and August 21st. I hope you’ll enjoy these 50 facts about the 50th state in celebration of Hawaii’s 50th anniversary.

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Ben Keene
Since seeing Youssou N’Dour with his band at the “Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas” celebration last month, I’ve been unable to stop listening to West African music. Currently in heavy rotation on my iPod: the austere yet entrancing guitar tones of the Touareg collective Tinariwen.