Fred Hemmings dressed
to impress at Reyn’s fete

F RED Hemmings dressed for the occasion when he attended the re-opening of Reyn's flagship Ala Moana store on Friday. Many of the guests wore Reyn's aloha shirts, but he completed his ensemble with a pair of Corbin trousers he'd purchased there in 1966. Hemmings is one of eight island watermen of the '60s whose legacy is celebrated in the new decor...

CONGRATULATIONS: To Noel Okimoto. After getting a great review here last year, local air play from Hawaii's progressive jazz radio personalities, and a Na Hoku Hanohano Award, Okimoto's first solo album, "Ohana," is also getting national attention. "Ohana" got good reviews in the October issue of "Modern Drummer" and the November issue of "Downbeat" ...

STAGE NOTES: One of the rip-offs Tom Holowach touts while playing the self-styled Duke of Bridgewater in "Big River" at Paliku Theatre is a product guaranteed "to take the tartar off the teeth" but which removes the enamel as well. So what was Holowach's opening night gift from his wife, Holly Holowach? A big "sonic care" electric toothbrush ... Shane Garcia wasn't going to wear one of those bogus "bald wigs" when playing stereotypical villain Otto von Bruno in The Actors Group production of "Bullshot Crummond," so he shaved his head and most of his goatee as well. Garcia says his wife, Melanie Garcia, hates the look and "almost didn't let me in the house" the first time she saw him after the big shave ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To Willie K, who is celebrating Sunday ...

MAN WITH A DREAM: Daren S. Kimura, well-known for his work in community theater, has plans for a local non-profit organizatin that will help small groups handle fund-raising in ways that will net them more money. Kimura has also taken on the tougher task of getting teenagers interested in seeing "Why?," a locally written musical about drug dealers, alcoholism and sex abuse. "Why?" plays at Blaisdell Center at 7:30 p.m. Saturday ...

MORISETTE'S TRAVELING MAN: Kamasami Kong interviewed Alanis Morisette for his FM802 Osaka radio show recently and reports that she plans to spend Christmas with friends here. Asked about "the most romantic thing" that her fiancee has done for her, Morisette said that after proposing to her in California, he flew to Ottawa (in eastern Canada) to get her parents' permission, then flew back to California that same day. That's a traveling man! ...