[ MAUKA-MAKAI ]
Lei’d back MASTER LEI-MAKER Bill Char wants to set the record straight. No, he's not retiring from the city-sponsored Lei Day Festival's lei-making contest. He doesn't know where the rumors started or why.
creativity
Bill Char takes a spontaneous
approach to making leiSuzanne Tswei
Star-BulletinYes, that may very well mean he'll be the one to beat Tuesday for the coveted Mayor's Grand Prize awarded in the city's annual Lei Day Contest, as well as many first-place prizes in the various lei categories.
No, he's not going to give any hints about what kinds of lei he'll be making for the contest.OK, maybe just a little hint. "I just saw something blooming out there. It's a tree. It's never bloomed before. I like the unevenness (of the stamens). I think I'll use that in my leis this year," Char says.
He's not saying what kind of tree it is, other than it is a mistake that sprouted on its own in his garden. He's not even divulging how many lei he plans to enter.
"Oh, usually I make six or seven every year," he says. "But I never know. I never know what I am going to do until I actually do it."
Lei-making, despite its laborious preparation requiring a few days beforehand, really is a spontaneous creative process. The perennial lei-contest winner won't begin making the lei until tomorrow, and he'll simply let the materials guide him.
"It all depends on what I find. If I am in the mountains and I see something that gets my attention, then I'll use that. If I am in my yard and I see something, then I'll use that."
There always is one material that interests him most and he'll used that as the theme for all his entries. One year it might be proteas, and another year, cymbidium orchids.
Char usually begins picking his materials about five days before the May 1st contest, scouting his own garden, friends' gardens, secret crannies in the wild and florist shops.
"I go hunting," he says. "This year, everything is (blooming) a little late. The flowers are not coming out as they should. We had that cold snap and now everything is holding back."
But he isn't worried. He's sure he'll find enough flowers and foliage to inspire him for something he's never done before. Indulging in total creative freedom is what keeps him coming back to the lei contest year after year. The professional lei maker makes a living creating pieces for special occasions, such as the Merrie Monarch hula competition, and must always conform to his clients' needs and tastes.
"This is the one time of year that I can do whatever I want," he said. "I don't have to worry about pleasing anybody else. I just make what I think looks good. I can be as weird and as wild as I want, or not."
Being in the mood for a weird lei was the impetus that spurred his lei-making career more than 20 years ago. Char can't remember the exact year but the other details are still vivid in his mind.
"It was 6 o'clock in the morning and my friend Mel (Lantaka, who is a kumu hula and also a lei-maker) called me and wanted me to come over to make leis for a contest because he wanted to win a VCR. The contest was at this Kailua shop that sold electronics stuff.
"He called a bunch of us, so it was this group effort with all of us trying to win this VCR. Mel was going to keep the VCR if any of us won. That was fine with us because we always ended up at his house, and we could use the VCR there."The group didn't have time to go pick fresh materials. Everyone had to make do with a box of leftover Lei Day flowers and greenery someone had sent over from the Big Island.
"I was in this weirdo mood, and I was laughing the whole time I was making this lei that ended up winning in the foliage category. I didn't even know there was a foliage category.
"I was just having fun, and making fun of what I was doing," Char recalls. "I was calling it Kamapua'a (the pig god) fighting with Pele in the mist."
Char's lei was crafted with lichen; small twigs; the leaves of liko lehua, ohelo and kukui. The white of the lichen was the mist, the reds in the liko lehua and ohelo represented Pele, and the pig god was in the green of the kukui leaves.
"And you know the funniest part? We didn't win the VCR, but I won a boom box!" His friend didn't want the boombox, so Char has kept it to this day.
"I was the one who didn't even want to do it in the first place, and I was the one who won. Then the following year, my friends decided they wanted to enter the May Day contest, and they pestered me to enter with them," Char says.
That's how Char, who learned traditional Hawaiian lei-making methods in his 20s while being trained as a hula dancer, began entering the popular community contest. He isn't sure exactly how many May Day contests he has entered, nor how many prizes he's won."I don't keep track of those things. OK, I won some prizes, but don't ask me what," Char says.
Some of his winning ribbons are crumpled and stuffed into a carved Chinese cedar chest and the rest of them are lost somewhere in his home in Kalihi.
Char recalls winning at least a few Mayor's Grand Prizes, and one year winning four first-place prizes. Last year he placed first in the red- and blue-lei categories, won second place for an orange lei, and another prize in the hat-lei categories.
He sat out the contest for two years, once because he was the judge and the other time because he was simply too busy.
Over the years, his lei have earned him recognition worldwide. Char, who is one-quarter Chinese and three-quarters Hawaiian, has been invited as a master lei maker to represent Hawaii in cultural events held in Japan, Australia, Samoa, the Cook Islands and the mainland. He also was commissioned to create lei that were used as models for the covers of GTE Hawaiian Tel 1993-1994 directories.
"I guess I keep making leis because it's fun. I like creating something that I can finish in a short time. I'll be making leis as long as these hands can still make them."
"Na Lei O Ka Hoku," which translates as "The Lei Which are Woven," is the theme for Honolulu's 74th annual Lei Day Festival taking place Tuesday at Queen Kapiolani park in Waikiki. Lei Day events
The free May Day festivities begin with the popular lei contest for adults and ends with a lei contest for children.
In between, there will be the traditional investiture of the Lei Day Queen, Kathryn Pi'ilani Bell, and her court, princesses, Bobbi-Lynn Keikiokalani Kupihea-Char and Mona Ann Yamada Wright. There also will be hula performances, crafts, music and other entertainment.
The Adult Lei Contest features cash prizes in three categories: hat lei, neck lei (divided into different color groups), and theme lei. In addition, the Mayor's Grand Prize will be awarded to the most outstanding lei. Call Barbara Lowe, 733-7357, for information.
The Youth Lei Contest, also awarding cash prizes, is divided into five age groups and open to boys and girls 17 and under. For information, call Sheila Wensel, 259-8926.
Applications for both lei contests are available at all district parks and Satellite City Halls. The winning adult lei will be on display at the park and then taken Wednesday to Mauna'ala, the Royal Mausoleum.
TUESDAY
>> 7:30 to 9 a.m.: Receiving of lei entries for Adult Lei Contest>> 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Ho'olau'ea, craft exhibits and demonstrations
>> 11 a.m. to noon: Lei Day Queen Investiture Program at the bandstand
>> 12:30 to 6 p.m.: Winning lei on exhibit
>> 1 to 5 p.m.: Hula performances at the bandstand
>> 3:30 to 4 p.m.: Youth Lei Contest registration
>> 4 to 6 p.m.: Youth Lei Contest
WEDNESDAY
>> 9 to 10 a.m.: Winning lei will be placed on the tombs of the Hawaiian monarchs at Mauna'ala, the Royal Mausoleum, at 2261 Nuuanu Ave. Call 973-7262.
DON'T WANT TO DRIVE?
>> For those who want to avoid traffic and parking trauma, city bus lines 4, 8, 19, 20, 22, 47 and 58 stop near Kapiolani Park's bandstand. Bus lines 2 and 14 also pass through the park. Call 848-5555.
Click for online
calendars and events.
