Post Thanksgiving …

Aloha, friends!

So now that the Thanksgiving weekend is over, I’m curious to know how “Black Friday” was for those of you who ventured forth to battle the crowds and parking that day?  I heard that there were some pretty good deals to be had, especially for toys.  I sure hope the retailers had a good day because our local economy could sure use the boost.  I think it’s going to take me a while to get into the holiday spirit this year, especially after the kind of year that we had.  2011 has been another wild one, from the deadly northern Japan earthquake and tsunami to the ongoing economic crisis and war against terrorism around the world. The memories of our visits to areas hit by Japan’s deadliest earthquake and tsunami are still fresh in my mind and something that I will never forget.

It was a stormy night down at Kani Ka Pila on Saturday.  Even though the weather sucked, it was a very special night for us because we were able to say aloha to our good friend, Bobby Mac, who is moving back to Maryland today after spending the last year in Hawai’i preparing for APEC.  I was also happy to see our friends, Eddie and Myrna Kamae, who also braved the rain to come and join us.  The weather got so miserable that everyone ended up cramming into the enclosed bar area to get out of the wind and rain.  But as that old saying goes, “The show must go on!”, we continued to perform through it all and Aunty Pat and Sarah even got up to entertain the crowd with hula … and got soaked for their efforts!  What troopers!  Anyway, mahalo to you all for coming down to see us at what will probably be our last Kani Ka Pila performance for 2011.  Unfortunately, we have several special events which will prevent us from performing at our favorite Saturday venue in December, but we promise to be back at KKPG in January 2012!

We’ll be performing at a special Christmas tree lighting ceremony over at the Hyatt Waikiki this Friday from 5-6pm so we will not be at Lulu’s.  On Saturday, we will be at Center Stage in the Ala Moana Shopping Center from 11:15 – 12:00 noon to perform for the Lokahi Tree’s annual donation drive.  And finally, please don’t forget our “Boys With Their Toys” toy drive benefiting the USMC’s “Toys for Tots” on Saturday, Dec. 10th (5:00 – 8:30pm) down at Gordon Biersch in the Aloha Tower Marketplace.  Bring a toy and be eligible for some great prizes including round trip airfares to Japan courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines and many other great surprises!  Hope to see you all there!

Have a wonderful week!

Aloha, “D”