Waimea lights up for the holidays

The Portuguese bean soup being served up by the Mama Bear food truck on Saturday was a perfect compliment to the rain that blanketed Hofgaard Park in Waimea.

“I smell chili,” said announcer Hua Duncan. “Oh, it’s Portuguese bean soup. It would be nice to have some right now.”

Chili was being served up by Da Booze Shop, along with saimin, pronto pups and assorted beverages that also suited the rain. DC Sweets, across the street from Hofgaard Park, was cranking out waffle dogs, ice cream sundaes and more, and Kalani had batter for plaoa plai Ni‘ihau pancakes.

“We served up more than 400 cups of cocoa at the Lights (on Rice) parade,” said the Child &Family Service Headstart and Early Headstart crew member. “We ran out of marshmallows, so this is a new bottle for tonight.”

More than a hundred people braved that late-afternoon, early-evening deluge to watch Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami throw the switch to Light It Up at Hofgaard Park, where the Kaua‘i Community Science Center capitalized on the rain with its offering of special-recipe soap bubbles to give the roadway a free wash down.

Kawakami dedicated this year’s Light It Up to the Waimea High School football team that captured the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Division II football title. The nightly lights, enhanced by a selfie station with the ocean theme created by Bridget Orsatelli and her “Rodeo Kids,” is on through the holidays.

The display of light was further enhanced by the fire knife crew from the DC building that houses the laundromat and sweet shop, an extension of the crew’s Friday evening treat for residents and visitors alike.

Light It Up was presented by the Hawai‘i Food Alliance with help from Thomas Nizo and the Waimea Theatre Production, Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative, Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation Kaua‘i Region, Orsatelli, Puni Patrick and the supporting food establishments. Nizo, who was busy checking the lighting connections in the rain, said the historic Waimea Christmas Lighted Parade will take place on Dec. 17 when the main road shuts down at 5:30 p.m.

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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.