PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM
We asked: How should Honolulu
celebrate its 100th birthday
in 2005? You answered ...
LAST MONTH we asked Hawaii's deep thinkers (yes, Star-Bulletin readers) what the city should do about Honolulu's upcoming anniversary. The City and County of Honolulu was incorporated in 1905, and the city dated back at least 100 years before that. The question we put to our citizen brainstormers was this: When 2005 rolls around, how should Honolulu commemorate its centennial?
At this point, the city itself has nothing planned -- but planning was the keynote of most of the responses we received.
Virtually all of our respondents said the city should take the date seriously and start planning now for a dignified event to celebrate Honolulu's unique place in world culture. "To gain maximum advantage for this event, international travel writers and the media should be invited," suggested Carl Myatt, retired journalist and author of "Electric Century," a history of Hawaiian Electric Co.
Entertainer and teacher Keith Haugen had big ideas, too. "We can turn the 100th anniversary of Honolulu into a major event that will bring us national and even international attention and publicity, and perhaps even increase tourism to Hawaii -- not just during the events surrounding the anniversary, but for years to come. But we need to start early, and we need a concerted, coordinated effort on the part of government and business -- everyone on Oahu. Let's have a 100-day-long celebration, unlike that ever held by any other city anywhere," said Haugen. "Naturally, we would invite the top 100 publications in the world to cover the event, treating them to free hotel rooms (donated by the hotels) and whatever else is necessary to attract them to Honolulu for the event."
"It would be nice to have something that both the local population and visitors would enjoy," said Honolulu resident Maria Lowder.
The Star-Bulletin's own bright idea is that it would be a good time to get a Honolulu history museum or visitor center under way. Honolulu is the only state capital without a municipal history center.
Other suggestions from our brainstorming readers tended to fall into groups.
Some folks thought it was about time the city was made a nicer place to live:
>> Outlaw purposeful noisemaking on cars. And outlaw open garbage cans -- the smell is awful. (Carol White)
>> Clean up the Ala Wai Canal permanently; get rid of all the freeloaders without car insurance and ban smoking at all public places. Our beaches should not be turned into big ashtrays. (Alvin Wong)
>> Have a massive block-by-block litter pick-up across the entire state. Litter is the biggest disgrace to our glorious islands; it is seen by our visitors and endured by those of us who live here and care. Have block captains to supervise and reward them with free tuition and books at our community colleges. (Nancy Bey Little)
>> Clean up the Ala Wai Canal by establishing open channels and replacing most of the canal with an underground parking garage topped by a botanical garden. (William Y.H. Ling)
>> The city could perhaps pave some of the streets, or at the very least fix the potholes. (Frank Hanhisalo)
Others felt a centennial spectacular was called for:
>> How about having 100 search lights or 100 propane fires at 100 sites? The 100 sites would be scattered throughout the state. (Kale Lani Okazaki)
>> Starting with the premise that the environment (water), the culture (its many ethnic groups) and dance (hula) are what make these islands and Honolulu unique, perhaps these elements should be the major component of a celebration of dance and light staged at Kapiolani Park in the shadow of Honolulu's most identifiable landmark, Diamond Head.
The festival would begin with the arrival of massed Hawaiian canoes, each with an open-flame torch and a torch bearer, and canoes would pull up on Waikiki beach near the Moana Surfrider to be greeted by chanters and hula halaus. While hula would be the foundation of the festival, it would be good to remind ourselves that other cultures have their own dance forms. We should work with our communities to get major Pacific Rim and Asian nations to send dance troupes. After opening the dance festival, there should be an around-Oahu canoe race with canoes from all the islands. (Carl Myatt)
>> Community luaus/parties all over the island with down-home entertainment at every location, for everybody! A concert at the Waikiki Shell, with as many of the local top-name acts as can be there! Free bus rides for everybody, tourists and locals alike, for the entire day! A fireworks contest at Magic Island! (Robert T. McMath)
>> It would be fun to show 200 years of transportation in and around the islands. Horse-drawn carriages parading around Iolani Palace. Canoes arriving on Waikiki Beach. Parade of antique automobiles. Tall-mast ships arriving at Aloha Tower with events at the Maritime Museum and the Falls of Clyde. An event around the train in Ewa. (Maria Lowder)
Our creative energies could be harnessed to commemorate the date:
>> Let's have a song-writing contest for a new song about Honolulu; a poetry contest for a new poem about Honolulu; and whatever else we can do to help focus on the event. Then a CD/book could be produced that would include all the songs/poems written about Honolulu. It would be a collector's item. (Keith Haugen)
>> Let's invite entertainment groups to our celebration -- one from each of 100 cities/countries around the world, beginning with our sister cities and those closest to us or that have ethnic identity in Honolulu. The event should span 100 days, with art exhibits, historical and cultural events, local entertainment, and culminating with the big "concert" featuring 100 hours of non-stop entertainment. (Keith Haugen)
>> Essay contests, with prizes, for schoolchildren, on what they like about Honolulu! Free lunches and dinners for the homeless, to be served by city personnel! (Robert T. McMath)
>> Use our parks and museums: An exhibition at Bishop Museum of historical pictures, a polo match at Kapiolani Park, a community picnic at Ala Moana Park, a band concert at Kapiolani Park, a kayak race at Kailua Beach, the history of whaling at Sea Life Park. (Maria Lowder)
A variation would be to create a unique sporting event:
>> We could host a special "Honolulu One Hundred" Golf Open tournament, and invite the best golfers in the world to compete against Michelle Wie. Maybe every golfer who shoots a 100 on a Honolulu course would receive a special award. We could host a football game featuring two of the top teams in the country; a surfing competition, a soccer tournament, a canoe race -- all named for the event. (Keith Haugen)
>> Invite back as many of the old Islanders baseball team as can make it, for a party! T-shirts and caps and other things for sale, to commemorate the event, with all proceeds to go to charities! (Robert T. McMath)
Others would be happy if the city and local businesses simply started paying attention to Honolulu citizens:
>> Ask each newspaper in Honolulu to select 100 people to be honored, one each day for 100 days -- people who have made major contributions to the City and County, politicians, business and spiritual leaders, and so on. Ask television and radio stations to do the same thing, highlighting a different person each day for 100 days, on their morning newscasts. We might end up with hundreds or thousands of people being recognized and honored, adding a nice touch of personal involvement for that many families in our fair city and state. (Keith Haugen)
>> Walk up and say hello to our firemen and policemen, and say how much they contribute to our city, and how much we like them. Get out and walk around and introduce yourself to tourists, if only for a day! And the Star-Bulletin and the Advertiser can bury the hatchet -- and not in each other's back! (Robert T. McMath)
>> Honolulu residents can extend their arms to another city in need rather than their own, to make a positive change in the betterment of a city or village in great need for a brighter future. A small effort can move mountains. (Elaine Vega)
As usual, others saw the event as an excuse for making a political statement:
>> By not flying the American flag at City Hall for ONE YEAR. (Pomaikaiokalani)
>> The Department of Land and Natural Resources can run classes that teach 10-year-olds to use guns. I am not making this up. (Barbara Ikeda)
OK, City and County, the ball is in your court.
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NEXT MONTH’S BRAINSTORM!
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM
Next month's poser: What can be done about the odd little triangles of city property that are not quite sidewalk and not quite street, like this one at the corner of Queen Street and Punchbowl, created when the right turn was eliminated. How should we make these dead zones into useful or creative pieces of city property? Start thinking -- you have until July 14. See below on how to submit your ideas.
You've got a month
NEXT MONTH'S poser is more down-to-earth: What to do with those no-man's-lands created by redesignating one-way streets?
to think about this ...We're talking about the odd little triangles of city property that are not quite sidewalk and not quite street. They're awkward and clumsy pedestrian afterthoughts created when streets became one-way and turn lanes were no longer needed. They're generally marked off by gopher trails of asphalt, plus a utility pole or two and a drain. Combined, they represent acres of city property that seem to exist primarily to trip up pedestrians.
What can be done with these urban dead zones? Get those storms going in your brain! We have our own concept, which we'll reveal next month, but the reservoir of bright ideas out there can certainly come up with other suggestions.
Send your ideas, bright or dim, to the address, email or fax number below.
Burl Burlingame
Brainstorm!
Send your ideas and solutions to:
brainstorm@starbulletin.comOr mail them to:
Brainstorm
c/o Burl Burlingame
Star-Bulletin
500 Ala Moana
7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813Or fax:
Brainstorm
c/o Burl Burlingame
529-4750
