Area residents
opposed to July 4
Ala Moana carnival

Ala Moana merchants support
the fund-raiser, but a change in
park rules is needed for a
permit to be issued

By Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

The prospect of a carnival midway added to the July 4 free concert and fireworks at Ala Moana Park brought nearby high-rise residents out in protest.

"The crowd is tremendous. We already have tremendous traffic problems. I don't think it's suitable to have a carnival there," Yacht Harbor Tower resident Hugh Mitchell told the Ala Moana/ Kakaako Neighborhood Board last night.

Producers of the annual event told the board they are going ahead with the expanded plan, which would put E.K. Fernandez rides on the baseball field for the three-day weekend, although they do not yet have a city permit.

"Where else do you have an event this large, this magnanimous and you don't have to pay for it?" asked Dexter Suzuki, marketing director of Ala Moana Center.

Sponsors were given encouragement in a meeting with Mayor Jeremy Harris last month, and rule changes to allow the carnival are being rushed to hearing. Whether that will be sufficient to go ahead is pending a legal opinion from the corporation counsel, officials said.

"We're looking at the larger perspective," said Managing Director Ben Lee, who attended but did not speak at the meeting.

"We are looking at ways we can have nonprofits use city facilities, such as the Taste of Honolulu (fund-raiser for Easter Seals) this weekend."

"Every celebration we have involves some inconvenience," Lee said.

The board sided with residents in a 5-1 vote opposing the carnival. But first they heard details of the entanglements of the scheme that would benefit Variety School of Hawaii, which teaches children with learning disabilities.

The annual concert and pyrotechnics have for seven years been underwritten by Ala Moana Center. But with sale of the center just a month away, owner Daiei Inc. cut back the budget, Suzuki said.

"We didn't want to disappoint the community," so Suzuki solicited funds from center merchants. Kane Fernandez pledged $65,000 with the caveat that he bring in his carnival.

Meanwhile, plans were in the works to have the events televised live.

The prospect of advertising on the television show lured merchants to the project, which has a $300,000 price tag, Suzuki said.

"We went to the mayor when we found out money was not forthcoming," said Carole Kai, coordinator of the concert, which will feature 28 entertainers or groups.

Variety School came into the picture because moneymaking activity in a park has to benefit a nonprofit organization, not a commercial venture.

Kai said the planners left the May 7 meeting at City Hall convinced they could go ahead with a carnival and that they should apply for permits.

Parks Director Bill Balfour answered board questions. "There is no document that says it's legal. If there has been a permit issued, I am not aware of it."

It turned out Parks Department rules don't permit a carnival at that location. So a proposed rule change was rushed into the works, and a June 30 public hearing is set.

Even if approved then, there is a law providing a 10-day period before rules go into effect, Mary Steiner, executive director of the Outdoor Circle, pointed out.

The managing director said after the meeting that among the questions before the corporation counsel is whether the 10-day waiting period could be waived.

Police Sgt. Lester Hite said police are already taxed with the huge crowd that turns out for the fireworks.