Ready to jump? Stratosphere Las Vegas Hotel & Casino opened the world's tallest SkyJump attraction last week, 855 feet above the Vegas Strip. In fact, at the opening April 20 was officially designated SkyJump Day in Las Vegas. Guinness World Records was also present and declared SkyJump Las Vegas the highest commercial decelerator descent, breaking the previous record set by SkyJump at Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre with a height of 764.4 feet.

SkyJump Las Vegas can best be described as a controlled free-fall. Riders are suited up in Stratosphere's custom jumpsuits and connected to a patented high-speed descender machine. Similar to skydiving or base jumping, SkyJumpers literally leap off the platform to descend 829 feet to the landing pad below.

SkyJump Las Vegas costs $99.99 per person, and riders must be 14 years old to jump. Screaming is free. www.SkyJumpLasVegas.com.

MOLOKAI

CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF HULA AT KA HULA PIKO FESTIVAL IN MAY

On Molokai, the Ka Hula Piko annual festival celebrates the birth of hula. Legend tells that from Molokai, a woman goddess named Laka traveled throughout the Islands teaching the art form that is today recognized as hula.

The Ka Hula Piko festival began in 1991, founded by kumu hula John Kaimikaua, Halau Hula O Kukunaokala and the Molokai community to celebrate this legend. Despite the precision and drama of the dance, the spirit of the festival is noncompetitive. Music, food, Hawaiian craft demonstrations and series of lectures by Halau Hula O Kukunaokala will round out the weekend.

Ka Hula Piko is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 13-15 at Mitchell Pauole Center in Kaunakakai. Free. www.visitmolokai.com, 808-553-3876, 800-800-6367. http://www.molokaievents.com/kahulapiko.html

HAWAII TOURISM

MAUI ISLAND GUIDE & DRIVING MAGAZINE LAUNCHES AS IPAD APP

Quick off the mark, Gecko Group's Maui Island Guide & Driving Magazine has launched its magazine as an iPad application this month alongside Apple's debut of the digital tablet.

Publisher James Quine hopes that the app will have a profound effect on Hawaii tourism, as millions of potential visitors will now have access to useful content for booking their Maui vacation. With more than 120 million consumers registered on iTunes, Quine says this is an explosive market to promote tourism for Hawaii.

The Maui Island Guide & Driving Magazine app has full featured navigation and links to advertiser sites. Future versions will include click-on videos of activities and links to advertisers' Facebook, Twitter and TripAdvisor pages.

"This is just the beginning," says Quine. Access the app at http://www.itunes.apple.com.