No. 21 — Santa is reclining here, with drink in hand, next to a decorated palm tree. The ultimate image of a visitor to Hawaii, during the holidays. A jolly holly mai tai, anyone?
CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN, NO. 21
CHRISTMASES PAST, AND PRESENT…
As a very senior citizen, I have many cherished memories of Christmases past – and present. I mean, who doesn’t love Christmas?
So stroll with me, down memory lane, as Christmas 2024 approaches…
Childhood memories:
- Trees: Our family always had fresh, not artificial trees. Loved it when so-called farm-grown premium trees were the vogue; trees were sheared to perfection; last time I bought a big (5- to 6-footer), the price was nearing $100+, but you get what you pay for.
- Ornaments: At some point, we had bubbling light ornaments (difficult, since they tilted and sagged; pretty awful).
- Gifts: Our family used to give and receive Harry & David fruit treats, the pears being the best. Hickory Farms mall stores couldn’t compete.
- Mom’s faves: My late mom always waited for the boxed cookies and arare treats arrived at Shirokiya; the great ones came tin containers; her personal treat was the dried persimmons from Japan.
- Annual ritual: a downtown visit to see the flights on Fort Street; Liberty House had window displays.
- Dandy candy: Frango Mints, at Liberty House. But McInerny has a chocolate-covered almond treat (don’t remember the name). Another treat: a Whitman’s Sampler box of sweets, with a convenient “index” to help you choose a piece. Remember?
- Gift-opening: My younger sister and I had to wait till Christmas morning to open gifts. No, never did the cookies-and-milk for Santa thing.
- Fruit cake: I never was a fan of Christmas fruitcakes, those liquor-soaked fruits and nuts and dense, dark cake; an aunt baked them and gave each family a tin of cake. My favorite, however, was the Kemoo Farms’ Happy Cake, a blonde fruit cake with macadamia nuts and pineapple, popularized by the late Dick Rodby.
Adult years
- Trees: Only fresh premium trees, from lots like Home Depot; the Noble firs were great. Brightened with beaucoup strings of LED lights. No trees in recent years. (See reason below).
- Decorations: Preferred some ornaments bought on trips (Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, Disneyland characters, San Francisco cable bar) but I adored hand-crafted ornaments, too. And apples; life-sized faux red apples, reflecting a hobby of collecting apples of all kinds, plastic, sculpted wooden ones, fabric, metallic. (These apples still are in our home, in baskets).
- No tree space: The scores of ornaments at Christmas inspired me to do a bunch of miniature décor gifts, simply since making Christmas décor emerged as part of the giving process. Yes, I ventured into Christmas lapel pins and even candy boxes filled with chocolates years ago, which expanded into Valentine’s, Easter and Halloween.
- Holiday music: Over the decades, our home always had Christmas LPs (CDs later) to hear to Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, The Carpenters, Elvis Presley, The Ray Conniff Singers, The Beach Boys, Mariah Carey, The Brothers Cazimero, Henry Kapono, Willie K and sundry others. These days, you get the whole shebang listening to KSSK Radio.
Nowadays
- No gift-giving in our married life. Vi and I have very few gifts, but we stopped exchanging Christmas and birthday gifts, the theory being we spend on trips to New York and Japan instead. If we have gifts from others, we open on the eve after an early dinner out. We give family members baskets of treats, with checks or gift cards.
- Door wreath: A marriage tradition continues, with a wreath on our front door and a mini one on our mailbox door the holidays. However, this year’s decoration is a stocking with add-on embellishments, since we couldn’t find a plain wreath we liked to decorate.
- Gotta do’s: We never missed the Brothers Cazimeros’ concerts, back in the day, and still follow Robert Cazimero’s serenades at Chef Chai, Frank DeLima’s comedy show at Blue Note, complete with his “Filipino Christmas” in lighted-tree costume. Took in Diamond Head Theatre’s “White Christmas” to get into the spirit. And we used to be regulars at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel’s Monarch Room, when the irresistible Honolulu Boy Choir would perform Christmas time. “Numbah One Day of Christmas,” Boy Choir-style, was a jewel with the lads’ animated faces and dances.
- Eve and Day outings: We dine out on Christmas Eve and will do it again this year; our family Christmas Night dinners have been replaced by lunchtime gatherings with dim sum and other Chinese restaurant classics, like Peking duck in buns, salt-and-pepper pork chops, and egg tarts for dessert. This revamped daytime tradition is favored by family elders – we all dislike driving at nights – and prefer to be safe at home Christmas night…
- Favorite treats: For gifts or home treats, we always enjoy Big Island Candies goodies, and with the Honolulu store at Ala Moana Center. the original hand-dipped cookies mean the treats are available year-round, so every month can be Christmas …
Mele Kalikimaka, and tidings for a Happy New Year and new memories to savor…
CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN, NO. 20
Still a few more items to share, in the 2024 countdown of yuletide decor…
No. 20—This Santa is behind a small stack of Christmas gifts, and there’s no denying: he’s either waiting for Rudolph to swing by with the sleigh, or he’s pau hana and perhaps the gifts are his. You can create your own storyline. Anyhow, note he’s resting on a circular wedge from a tree trunk.
CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN, NO. 19
It’s homeward bound, in our ongoing Christmas countdown of holiday decor, vintage 2024…
19—This was an idea that worked after the first trial. A Santa’s cap in red, purchased at WalMaret, is not much fun, so I tucked teeny-weeny charms into its base (there’s space where the white band is). Slip a flat circular ingredient – actually an O from a Tic-Tac-Toe gameboard – over the cap, and glue. Voila, a second floor for more mini-ornaments.
PIONEERING ” ‘AUANA”: FUTURE OF WAIKIKI
If you build it, they will come…
So goes the adage, but I have seen the future of Waikiki entertainment, and it’s Cirque du Soleil’s awesome and enchanting wizardry, entitled “‘Auana,” Hawaiian for “to wander, to drift from place to place.”
It’s a spectacle of visual and musical riches, which formally opens tonight (Dec. 18) at the Outrigger Theatre at the Outrigger Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. I saw it Sunday (Dec.15) in one of the final preview stagings.
“‘Auana” is impressive and inventive, with beaucoup appeal to a global audience because of Cirque du Soleil’s years of splendid creations and track record. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give “‘Auana” an emphatic 10, a show that could possibly make the prevalent luau experience here obsolete. Not a threat, but a probability.
Its principal creators are Neil Doward, the director and co-creator of “‘Auana,” and Aaron J. Sala, the island-based cultural and creative producer for the show. They are the minds behind this miracle.
It’s a different, daring production with a pioneering style, created with its own bold, beautiful signature, and staged entirely in the Hawaiian language. “‘Auana” is chock full of ‘olelo and mele, with a soundtrack that appears to be pre-recorded with perhaps a small orchestra performing live but performed by a vibrant and versatile ensemble of singers/dancers experiencing a fresh new journey amid a whirlpool of hula kahiko, lusciously bathed by a soundtrack that is enticing and energizing.
I wish I could be specific and share names and numbers of the spirited troupe, but the show – like other Cirque ventures elsewhere – appears to maintain a don’t ask, don’t tell policy.
Ten things worthy of your attention:
1— You don’t need to speak or understand Hawaiian, to “get” what is staged; the visuals are powerful, the staging incredible. You’ll quickly become acclimated to the rhythm of the vocabulary.
2— The choreography, by Hiwa Vaughan, is spirited, fresh, consuming; the dances will draw you into the moment, number after number. Her choreography is ravishing and revolutionary.
3— The striking costumes, by Manaola, are stunning, with designs that lure you into the dances, with swirls of fabric and typhoons of styles and surely will make you yearn to buy a shirt or a dress with the prints you see. No can do; these are the show’s exclusive, original designs.
4— Traditional “circus” acts — like duos skating and twirling, acrobats teetering on spinning cages, a dude who balances on circular tins that spell potential danger, aerial acrobats without fear of heights – prove that “Wicked” isn’t the only show Defying Gravity; these troupers are awesome, and they complement the ensemble of singers/dancers.
5— I particularly adored “Over the Rainbow,” translated and sung with wizardry and wonderment; the solo singer delivered the Hawaiian lyrics while an artist sketched on an oversized canvas, the huge backdrop where there are changing visuals. The art piece comprised a beautiful colorful rainbow accent at the tune’s finale. This was one of two non-Hawaiian tunes that works in translation.
6— There’s a delightful audience participation instance, utilizing a second borrowed melody, the “Hawaii Five-O” theme song, where gents played invisible drums, trumpet and flute, gleefully projecting the aloha spirit. You want to shout, “Book ‘em, Danno,” in Hawaiian, natch.
7—There’s valid Hawaiian pageantry, beginning with natives navigating the seas, catching fish, and eventual embracing the growth of a visitor industry. In storytelling, there is a beginning, middle, and an ending, and this journey embraces distinctive and indelible memories.
8—One especially engaging stunt involved a chap fixated with an oversized balloon/ball, gets “swallowed” by the sphere, begins to take off his shirt and trousers and tossing them out, yet eventually and methodically bounces himself out from the pliable gizmo. It’s not Hawaiian, but it’s hip!
9— Other modern motifs involved smaller balls, bobbed to and fro, from performers to the observers in the audience. The mood was casual, like beach ball fun, minus the sand. I recall a similar playful interaction in Broadway’s “SpongeBob” musical a couple of years ago, utilizing humongous bounce balls.
10—You don’t mess with Pele, and “‘Auana” bypasses – wisely – any lava reference to avoid controversy. If you watch carefully, however, there is a moment of volcanic action. You don’t need an eruption. Period.
Advisories, if you attend:
- Show times: 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.
- Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes; there is no intermission.
- Tickets: Varies with playdates; call (877) 773-6470. Kamaaina and VIP Experience rates available.
- Bathrooms are outside of the showroom, so you should “go” before curtain time.
- Once the show starts, audience members should not go up and down stairs or walkways because the dancing/singing cast constantly utilize these steps and hallways in darkness. Safety is assured only if viewers stay put.
- Snacks (like caramel popcorn, sold in plastic cups with peel-off covers) and soft drinks and bar drinks like wine don’t come with clip-on covers but should; there are convenient drink holders in the front of your seat. Bottled water comes with caps.
- Handicapped service is not defined, at least when I attended. Escalator access is the norm; as a walker user, I had to use elevator service to get to the showroom level; the walker was taken by an attendant at the showroom, after I was seated, and I was told that someone would bring over the walker at the end of the performance; it didn’t happen. Another walker and a wheelchair user had similar issues. We had to wait till the whole room was vacant to retrieve the access needs. Not good…
And that’s Show Biz…