LIHUE — Elizabeth Freeman, founder and designer of the Festival of Lights, was thrilled and frustrated at the same time on Sunday. Enthralled by the display of lights demonstrating the creativity of students, volunteers and other contributors to the collection
LIHUE — Elizabeth Freeman, founder and designer of the Festival of Lights, was thrilled and frustrated at the same time on Sunday.
Enthralled by the display of lights demonstrating the creativity of students, volunteers and other contributors to the collection of Christmas folk art, Freeman was also dismayed while looking at one of the palms whose lights were sorely missed in the display.
“Children were running around with those light sabers and actually hitting the lights,” Freeman said. “Do you know what happens when you hit lights?” The Festival of Lights is a free display which is put on by Freeman and her volunteers for the past 17 years, attracting thousands of people during the time it gets turned on during the first Friday of December and running through Christmas Eve.
The more elaborate Christmas folk art displays located inside the lobby of the Historic County Building are free to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 6 to 8 p.m.
What does it take to keep the displays illuminated and pristine?
Manu Fonua has been overseeing the displays since it started being shown at the county building.
“Some things you can’t help,” Fonua said, Thursday while checking through connection stations. “The winds blew some of the displays against the building and broke some of the lamps. These are being replaced.”
Other malfunctions are preventable.
“There are people who are coming around, ripping off the security tape and plugging in their cell phones for charging,” Fonua said. “The tapes are there for security.”
The connections have been weatherized and prevent people from electrical shocks with priority being given to viewers’ safety during the installation, display, and dismantling.
He urged people to respect the installations to keep themselves safe and allowing others to brighten their holidays at the Festival of Lights.
• Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
