You don't need to be a bride to eat at The Wedding Cafe. The first Sunday of every month, the Manoa Marketplace spot holds "mint." — a nearly four-hour sip-and-graze event.

No anemic cuke sandwiches here — besides a selection of teas, the menu includes salmon ceviche, skewers of grape tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella, Greek-accented veggie wraps and gown-busting desserts. At $20 per person, it may be the best deal in town. Choose from two seatings, 10:30 a.m. or 2:30 p.m.

To book for this Sunday, call 988-1005 or visit www.theweddingcafe.net.

— Catherine E. Toth

COMPETE IN HAPA-HAOLE HULA FEST

Hapa-haole songs and dances — like "My Little Grass Shack at Kealakekua, Hawai'i" — have gained retroactive cred as a defining part of the Hawaiian experience.

So the 4th Annual Hapa Haole Hula & Music Festival is seeking a Ms. Hapa Haole, a Ms. Sophisticated Hula, a comic hula soloist, a group winner in male, female, kupuna, keiki and combined divisions and a solo vocalist.

Apply by April 3. Details: 295-3861 or 754-2301; www.hapahaolefest.org.

The finals are at 5:30 p.m. May 12 at the Hale Koa hotel. A Las Vegas version of the festival (apply by May 31) will be held Aug. 17-19 at Bally's.

— Wayne Harada

FINAL WORD

"I'm dating as many people as I possibly can, but nobody seriously. No, dating isn't the right word. I'm hanging out with as many people as I possibly can."

Aaron Eckhart | the "Thank You for Smoking" star, in Entertainment Weekly