Wood Craft Ben Wood

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Bill Tapia, 99, has return gig at the Royal -- 80 years later

Singer and ukulele player Bill Tapia had a return gig at the Royal Hawaiian Thursday night, 80 years after his first appearance there at the opening of the Pink Palace on Waikiki Beach in 1927. Bill is 99 years old. The hotel held its 80th birthday party Thursday and Bill was The Man, performing with Mihana Souza and Kahalepuna Richardson-Maki. He played uke and sang "Little Grass Shack" and "Happy Birthday." At 99 Bill still does shows. He's incredible ...

Carrying on: Dana Ritchie Fujikake, the late Abe Weinstein's co-producer of the Hawaii International Jazz Festival, said she will select emcees for each segment of the jazz fest at Windward Community College, Feb. 11, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Weinstein, founder of the festival, died Monday. Among those performing are: Gabe Baltazar and his nephew David Choy, two of the finest sax players in Hawaii, hot trumpet man DeShannon Higa, John Kolivas and the much-respected Honolulu Jazz Quartet, Friends of Abe Weinstein, the Castle High School Jazz Band, and Gypsy Pacific from Maui. Kelly Covington is the songbird. Kelly sang backup for Whitney Houston. No admission charge. Choy and versatile musician Abe Lagrimas Jr. will conduct a jazz music seminar at the college Feb. 9 from 1 to 3 p.m. ...

Miss Hawaii backers beat lei problem

About 80 friends and family members of Miss Hawaii Pilialoha Gaison showed up at the Aladdin Resort in Las Vegas with a load of leis to support Pili in the Miss America Pageant Monday night. But because of security regulations, they could not take the bags of leis in the auditorium. So the Hawaii crowd wore the leis and walked in. They later gave them to Pili, 23, who was in the top 10. They also gave leis to other contestants, spreading the aloha spirit, according to Darcie Yukimura, a Miss Hawaii contest official. Pili is a dancer with the outstanding Tihati show at the Princess Kaiulani. She was one of three talent show winners for her Tahitian dance, winning a $2,000 scholarship. As a top 10 finalist, she received $7,000 that will go toward her master's degree in business education. After the pageant, Pili had dinner with her parents, former NFL player Blane and Donnalei Gaison, and other family members ...