KALAHEO — Santa Claus already made his appearance, Sunday, ringing a school bell from atop a special perch on Pu‘uwai Road in Kalaheo. With Santa extending his holiday greeting to passing motorists from amidst a colorfully decorated home, the pressure
KALAHEO — Santa Claus already made his appearance, Sunday, ringing a school bell from atop a special perch on Pu‘uwai Road in Kalaheo.
With Santa extending his holiday greeting to passing motorists from amidst a colorfully decorated home, the pressure was on for the group of about six families on Onohi Lane to get their lights on.
“We’re having a test burn tonight,” said Juan Lorenzo, one of the Onohi Lane residents. “But I’m not through yet. I still have to work on the rock wall along the driveway.”
Larry and Gwen Carveiro were also busy inspecting their strings of lights and lighted displays.
“It was working when I put them up,” Larry said. “But now that they’re up, some don’t work. I guess I have to wait until tomorrow to try and figure out why it’s not working.”
Despite the drawbacks, an impressive display of lights and lit holiday displays beckoned visitors to the tiny lane, drawn by the 30-foot lit Christmas tree that anchored Lorenzo’s lawn.
Daysha Nelmeida-Rice, a third grader at Kalaheo School, eagerly ran up to visitors, a candy cane in hand, welcoming them to Onohi Lane.
“This year, I have a giraffe,” Gwen said. “But I also have a polar bear on a sleigh, some penguins. I got these from the after-Christmas sale at The Home Depot last year.”
Another new feature at the Carveiro home is the series of arches created out of re-bars and each arch containing a lit Christmas tree.
“The pockets of the concrete wall are filled so when you pull the re-bars, they arch naturally,” Larry said of the display that spans the length of his Kalaheo property.
Lorenzo said one of the residents only returned home Sunday and spent the day getting their home ready.
He added the displays in his home are going energy-efficient this year.
“I think I have about 80 percent LED lights,” Lorenzo said. “The only problem with LEDs is the aluminum contacts which corrode in Hawai‘i’s weather. The older lamps have copper contacts which don’t corrode as fast. The LED icicles last only one season. But if you can get two, or three seasons out of a display, it’s already paid for itself.”
Gwen said Larry’s brother is the Santa on Pu‘uwai Road, but the Onohi Lane Santa will start making his nightly appearances from 7 to 9 p.m., Dec. 18-24.
The displays go on from sundown until about 9 p.m. nightly.
