Uncle George Naope, veteran kumu hula and one of the backbones of Hilo's Merrie Monarch Festival, will be inducted into the Lodge Le Progres, the oldest Freemason lodge in Hawai'i (founded in 1842) whose members included monarchs such as King David Kalakaua, in ceremonies set from 6 to 10 p.m. Dec. 20 at 'Iolani Barracks on the grounds of 'Iolani Palace. The public is invited.

The invitation came after Naope made his first-ever performance with Palani Vaughan and King's Own, commemorating the birthday anniversary of Kalakaua at 'Iolani Palace Nov. 16.

The induction is a recognition of Naope's lifelong efforts to perpetuate hula through the establishment of the Merrie Monarch Festival and, more recently, his promotion of hula in Japan, thus building upon the Vaughan composition "Rainbow of Goodwill," reflecting the sharing between Emperor Mutsuhito, the Meiji leader of Japan, and Kalakaua, during his world tour in 1881.

Naope is very excited about the Freemason honor, and Vaughan is hoping hula enthusiasts will come and share oli and hula extemporaneously. ...

Just before the Kalakaua ceremony last month, Vaughan was inspired to compose "Mele No Lanakila-keiki-ahi-ali'i" for Naope, which he is prepping to perform at the Lodge Les Progres ceremony, with kokua from Vaughan's daughter Ka'ilihiwa's halau. The 'Iolani Palace debut of that song can be seen on YouTube. Go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYvJAfENLv8&feature=related ... or try Googling www.youtube.com/palanivaughan, and you'll find the wobbly video. ...

AROUND TOWN: What a wonderful Christmas surprise — a big hug and a special visit at the office from Loretta Ables Sayre, who's back on stage tonight as Bloody Mary in "South Pacific" at Lincoln Center's Vivien Beaumont Theatre. She was home for the week, largely to spend quality (and well-deserved) time with hubby David Sayre, but also for some dental work and good old-fashioned yard work at her Mililani Mauka home. She has re-inked her pact with the show, so will be performing through July 5 for now, and she's lost what looks like 20 pounds from all that hustling, running and singing on stage. She was shivering, thinking of the 20-degree temps in New York, where it has snowed and created icy dangers on the streets. We summoned columnist Lee Cataluna so she could also get one big hug, and the pair shared chatter, too. You recall, Cataluna wrote "You Somebody" that gave Ables Sayre a prime boost to bolster her stage credentials. ...

Bassist Stephen Jones and guitarist Bryan Kessler are anticipating the release of their "Hawaiian Jazz" CD later this month. It collates Hawaiian standards and originals, delivered in nostalgic jazzspeak of the 1940s-'50s Hawai'i, and they're blessed with stellar guest performers, including Grammy Award-winning Jeff Peterson on 'ukulele, Jeff Au Hoy on steel guitar, Noel Okimoto on drums, Abe Lagrimas on uke and drums, and Dan Del Negro on keyboards. Sounds promising. ...

Entertainer Audy Kimura recalled Pearl DeLima had ties with his father, the late Bert Kimura — they worked together (he as a delivery boy, she as a baker) when they were teens at the Alexander Young Hotel bakery, the long-gone Downtown spot. So Kimura had warm thoughts of Pearl, who died last Thursday. ...

With the "The Drowsy Chaperone" ended on the Mainland, frequent Isle visitor Richard Vida, the actor, is back in town for a week that includes a major workshop for teens from such shows as Army Community Theatre's "High School Musical" and Diamond Head Theatre's "Peter Pan." He and partner Bob Billig (who has conducted such shows as "Miss Saigon," "Les Misérables" and "Wicked" on Broadway) will be teaching numbers from "Gypsy" and "Wicked." But before getting on the plane, Vida had a real New York thrill — he was invited to the world premiere of the movie "The Reader" and got to meet stars Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes, both of whom he raved about. Vida headed to Auntie Pasto's Sunday to help the restaurant celebrate its 25th anniversary and to catch up with local pals such as Ed and Tina Wary, Joey Caldarone, Nigel Salmingo and Lisa Josephsohn for dinner. ...

CALENDAR CUES: At the Kahala Resort, New Year's Eve plans call for Kit Samson and his jazz trio welcoming in the new year from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. at the Veranda. Earlier in the eve, "Shimmer," a special reception at 6:30 p.m. with musician David Swanson at the Veranda, is a prelude to a six-course dinner at Hoku's next door. The Plumeria Beach House features live music by Son Caribe from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., with two dinner seatings that night. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Show Biz is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach Wayne Harada at 525-8067, wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 525-8055.