HONOLULU — Somewhere in Pearl City, the City and County of Honolulu’s Honolulu City Lights display has been undergoing touchups, repair work and general sprucing up by a dedicated handful of staff. Tutu even got a new coat of paint.
They have now been transported for the 37th Honolulu City Lights at Honolulu Hale and the Frank F. Fasi Civic Grounds, which has officially opened and runs through Jan. 2, 2022.
The tree lighting ceremony was not open to the public; however, it was streamed on Olelo Channel 53 with rebroadcasts for everyone to enjoy in the comfort of their homes.
“This is my first Honolulu City Lights while serving as mayor and I am grateful to bring our families and community together for this treasured holiday season tradition,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi in a recent news release. “COVID-19 has made the past year especially challenging, however with the continued support from our community we have made tremendous strides that allow us to look forward to 2022 with renewed hope. Happy holidays to everyone!”
Behind the scenes, Alex Ching, interim warehouse manager, worked with a handful of staff to prepare the display. He has been employed by the City and County of Honolulu for 29 years and has had a hand in creating most of the holiday displays for 30 years. Prior to the delivery to Honolulu Hale, he and his staff have been busy.
“Depending on the actual work and if there is a new display to be sculpted, (work) could start as early as mid-August. If it is just repairs and maintenance, the work can start later,” said Ching. “All the sculptures are created by the Department of Parks and Recreation employees. There is one lead parks staff with one part-time contract worker who sculpts or coordinates the work. The rest are recreation staff who volunteer to come out in between their regular recreation program activities at the parks.”
Ching said the sculptures are sculpted with styrofoam, coated with cement mixed with an adhesive over fiberglass mesh, then primed and painted with automotive paint. Some sculptures haven’t been redone in 20 years since they’ve remained undamaged.
Some fun-to-know facts: Shaka Santa was created in 1989 under the Frank Fasi administration, and Tutu Mele joined him in 1994 wearing a traditional red coat. In 1998, she got a makeover, and the red coat was changed to a muumuu. From 1989 to 2000, the sculptures were painted in house paint, but in order to get more vibrant colors and durability, they began using automotive paint in 2001. Santa and Tutu were redone using this paint in 2003. In addition, this year’s tree came from Kailua.
“There are too many different stories throughout the years for me to pick just one,” said Ching when asked to share a memory about the display. “I actually just like to work behind the scenes and get gratification from walking around the displays anonymously and hearing all the great comments from the public.
“Not only is this Christmas display a big draw year after year, but it is always a positive uplifting event,” added Ching. “It feels appropriate to have this be the first big city event held as we start to come out of COVID restrictions.”
Highlights at this year’s event include the 55-foot holiday tree, the 21-foot-tall displays of Shaka Santa and Tutu Mele (no masks this year), as well as the “Joy” and “Aloha” selfie stations with other social media backdrops to take holiday photos.
After being canceled last year, the City and County of Honolulu’s department tree display once again brightens the interior of Honolulu Hale.