LIHU‘E — Squeals of delight punctuated the throbbing beat of the music that blared within the confines of Vidinha Stadium Wednesday as about 670 participants of the county’s Summer Fun program converged for a day of activities and “hanging out.”
LIHU‘E — Squeals of delight punctuated the throbbing beat of the music that blared within the confines of Vidinha Stadium Wednesday as about 670 participants of the county’s Summer Fun program converged for a day of activities and “hanging out.”
Aaron Uyeda, one of the leaders from the county Agency on Recreation in the Offices of Community Assistance, said the event was done in lieu of the camping trip, and allowed participants from sites all over the island to come to the stadium for the Fun Day.
Melanie Okamoto, another one of the leaders, concurred, adding that the Wednesday event was better because it was a lot safer, and everyone in the program could participate. “We can service everyone,” she said.
The camping trips used to attract less than a hundred participants.
Okamoto said the idea came from Cindy Duterte, county executive on recreation.
Marilyn Wong, the county’s youth and senior program specialist, said the event would not have been possible without the help and cooperation of a lot of people, including officials at Koa Trading, who donated six cases of hot dogs; the Hawaiian Springs water company; Love’s Bakery, who provided a “really good price for the hot dog buns;” the Retired Senior Volunteer Program including Grace Ishida, Yuriko Oshiro and Jane Hadama working to stuff the hot dogs into buns; “Jay Furfaro of Leadership Kaua‘i came up with the ice, except he doesn’t know it, yet, and Marina (Martinez) of Garden Island Inflatables gave us a really good rate,” Wong said.
Jon Hashimoto of King Kaumuali‘i cooked all (1,200) the hot dogs, and the National Guard was out, represented by Jessica Higa. Col. Jerald Knudsen of the Kapa‘a High School Junior ROTC program had to juggle schedules with cadets’ summer school to come up with volunteers who helped man the various activity stations, including the “hazardous” dodge ball (the participants called it “prison ball”) area.
“It’s cool!” Erica Garabilez of the Kalaheo center said. “The water slides cool you down!”
Marina Martinez of Garden Island Inflatables was the star of the event, barely having time to recover from the Fourth of July Concert in the Sky.
