COURTESY CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU
City electricians have been hard at work constructing a giant interactive star that will be one of thousands of Honolulu city lights twinkling throughout the season.
City Lights will
introduce new sights
On Saturday, when the lights go on at Honolulu Hale for the annual Honolulu City Lights celebration, there'll be a new star sitting atop the city's 65-foot "Mele Tree."
City elves have been hard at work assembling a giant interactive star that will be visible all in the downtown area.
The theme for this year's seasonal light show is "Jingle All the Way," and this theme will be carried from the tree adorned with 130 jingle bells and 400 musical ornaments, to the gigantic bells hanging in the Honolulu Hale courtyard.
In addition, the public asked for it, so there'll now be an 11-foot logo in the front lawn, illuminated by 15,000 lights, as a backdrop for shutterbugs.
Mayor Jeremy Harris will turn on the power at 6 p.m. Saturday, while ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, his brother Bruce Shimabukuro and Bruce's students perform a medley of Christmas tunes.
Then, provided traffic lights cooperate, the Public Workers Electric Light Parade, co-sponsored by Hawaiian Electric Co., will pass in front of Honolulu Hale at the moment the mayor lights the Christmas tree. The parade leaves Aala Park at 6 p.m., proceeding down King Street to Honolulu Hale.
A new addition to the parade is the Honolulu Zoo "Choo Choo" Train, which will be carrying costumed characters, including Kikaida. The super android will also make a special appearance at the Tom Moffatt concert at Sky Gate later in the evening, featuring Jordan Segundo, Five by 5 with Simplisity, Hapa and Henry Kapono.
Santa will also arrive at 7:30 p.m. to hear children's wishes. He'll be in the Honolulu Hale Courtyard.
And, for those who forget their cameras, Fuji will be offering disposable ones for sale onsite.
For those who suffer from crowd phobia or miss the event, the Honolulu City Lights festivities will be cablecast live beginning 6 p.m. Saturday on Olelo Channel 54. Rebroadcasts will air on Channel 55 at 8 p.m. Christmas Eve, 6 p.m. Christmas Day, 1 p.m. Dec. 26 and 10 a.m. Dec. 27.
Be aware of street closures throughout the downtown and Chinatown areas beginning as early as 11 a.m. tomorrow, when setup for the festivities and Honolulu City Lights Public Workers Electric Light Parade begins.
Revelers are advised to arrive well before 5 p.m., and there will be entertainment at Sky Gate beginning at 4 p.m. for early arrivals.
For details, see our Weekend section tomorrow.
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