KAPA‘A — Halloween did not pass residents of Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital by, as the staff got together to dress the residents in anticipation of a visit by the Head Start preschool in Kapa‘a. “The students come every month to
KAPA‘A — Halloween did not pass residents of Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital by, as the staff got together to dress the residents in anticipation of a visit by the Head Start preschool in Kapa‘a.
“The students come every month to visit the residents,” said Josie Pablo, the hospital’s recreational director. “And since it’s Halloween, the staff got together to dress up the residents.”
Of course dress-up means you need to have a contest resulting in the hospital hosting a costume contest prior to the arrival of the preschool students, the appearance of the dressers counting toward extra points by the judges.
Queen Liliu‘okalani and her attendants were present as was Julius Caesar, two cats, complete with their “ME-OW,” a friendly witch, a lady bug (whom her describer mistook for a bumblebee), a yellow duck, and a bunch of pirates (this seemed to be the year for pirates).
But in the end, it was a hula dancer dressed in totally recycled goods (recycled hula skirt and tapa from recycled paper bags) which won the hearts of the judges when he stepped forward to do a few of his kahiko moves.
Others receiving nods from the judges included the yellow duck and the friendly witch.
Pablo brought forward visitors from the Mainland whose visit to Kaua‘i just coincided with the Halloween festivities, one guest noting she didn’t want to return to the Mainland after seeing how much fun everyone had.
The culinary staff of the hospital prepared special orange muffins for the occasion and following the skits and musical performance by the preschoolers, there was the Halloween pinata to smash open so the young trick-or-treaters could fill their homemade pumpkin containers.
“This is all done by the staff,” Pablo, garbed in a specially created hat with fruits to match her flashy dress, said. “We bought some of the items, but the staff and volunteers did all the decorating. They did everything.”
With Halloween out of the way, Pablo said she needs to complete the application for the Veterans Day parade because the residents, five of whom are veterans, want to participate.
“We’ll see you, Saturday,” she said.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
