GECKOS IN PARADISE One-of-a-kind ceramic geckos are a foot long and will be up for bid at a silent auction Sunday.

Get yourself a gecko --
for a good cause

Admit it -- you think geckos are cute, but you can't consider them as pets because of the dropping thing and the way their little sucker feet would feel running up your arm ...

The Hawaii State Art Museum and a host of island artists have a solution: 1-foot-long ceramic geckos, individually designed and to be offered for bid at a silent auction to kick off the outdoor art display "Geckos in Paradise."

The gecko project put artists to work decorating 50 6-foot-long lizards, to be displayed on the streets of downtown Honolulu and Waikiki through October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month).

The kick-off event is a party, running 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Hawaii State Art Museum on South Hotel Street.

The benefit event for the Kapiolani Breast Center will include an outdoor display of the mega-geckos, live and silent auctions, drinks, pupus and entertainment.

Among the artists who have participated are Vicki Chock, Tony Randall, Pegge Hopper, Allison Holland, Anne Namba, Indru Watumull, Jim Growney, Chuck Davis, Brady Churchill and Sanit Khewhok.

Tickets to the benefit are $100. Call Kapiolani Health Foundation, 535-7100 or 535-8319.