ALOHA TOWER
‘All out for
millennium’
Fireworks at Aloha Tower
By Treena Shapiro
Marketplace are 'the best you'll
ever see' as a rowdy but reasonable
crowd parties like it's 1999
Star-BulletinA sound system glitch temporarily interrupted the music and dancing at Aloha Tower Marketplace last night, but it didn't interrupt the festivities as thousands greeted the new year with kisses, cheers and bottles of bubbly.
Security seized one such bottle as champagne sprayed a KITV camera crew which was busy with a live telecast.
Overall, however, the crowd remained rowdy within reason, according to some police officers.
For local architect Allen Steck, the crowd made more of an impression than the show, since he and his wife missed most of it. Everyone had confetti, streamers and spray bottles, he said.
"The fireworks were probably the best you'll ever see, because they went all out for the millennium," he said. The display lasted about 20 minutes.Steck and his wife came for a late dinner at Hong Kong Harbor View, then joined the crowd for the fireworks. "We even found a parking space, which was a capper," Steck said.
Lourdes Zankles, on vacation with her husband from Germany, said the celebration was nice but smaller than those in her hometown, New York City.
"If they didn't have the audio glitch, it would have been really nice," she said.
Chris Dolrenny had the night off from Gordon Biersch but came to Aloha Tower anyway to celebrate his 25th birthday in addition to the new year. "A quarter-century on the century," he said.His girlfriend, Anne Olsen, didn't have the night off, but she didn't mind selling leis and roses for Honolulu Flower Lady.
"This is the best job to have and the best night to work it. You just get to kind of cruise around," she said as she headed off with Dolrenny.
