FRIDAY-SATURDAY
Hawaii Prince concerts celebrate the holidays
You’re likely to hear holiday music of some sort on nearly all hotel stages in Waikiki, but the Hawaii Prince Hotel has programmed two special concerts for this weekend. Fruday it’s the Home for the Holidays Concert, featuring Alx Kawakami, who not only plays the uke left-handed, but also tunes it upside-down (“Fleas Has Dog My”).
“It affects the sound a little. It actually gives it a pretty unique sound because of the way I strum and pick as well as how I hold chords,” he said in an email. Husband-wife duo Kupaoa, alt-indie band Streetlight Cadence and self-taught musician Blayne Asing also perform. The concert is at 7:30 p.m.
If you’re busy Friday — and who wouldn’t be — but still want to get a Christmas concert in, head over to the hotel on Saturday morning, when the hotel hosts its Christmas Concert & Brunch. Asing and Streetlight Cadence will again perform, along with pianist and singer Jay Larrin, Melveen Leed (who is perhaps Hawaii’s favorite country artist) and others. The music begins at 10 a.m., giving you plenty of time to get home and hunker down for Santa.
Cost: Home for the Holidays, $42 (includes two cocktails); Christmas Concert, $69. Info: princeresortshawaii.com or 952-4789.
FRIDAY-JAN. 1
Enjoy the lights the city and Navy provide each year
Two of Oahu’s signature holiday light shows are on display for your viewing pleasure: Honolulu City Lights and the Pearl Harbor Festival of Lights.
You’ll need to get out this weekend to see the Pearl Harbor Festival of Lights, where decorated Navy vessels will be on display for viewing from the shore. It’s traditional for Navy ships to display their brightest trim for the holiday season, and there’s a contest for best decorations as well, so you can expect the sailors to have put in some extra effort. The festival ends Christmas Day. Check them out from onshore, or get a view from on high in Aiea Heights. Also, if you’re free to visit Pearl Harbor this morning, bring the kids to the Battleship Missouri Memorial, where Santa will be available for photos from 8 a.m. to noon. Refreshments and crafts will also be available.
The official city display started out in 1985 as mostly a display of the city’s decorated tree. It got an official “Honolulu City Lights” designation in 1987. In 1989 the huge, jolly “Shaka Santa” made his first appearance, and since then Mrs. Claus and many other oversize figures have joined him on the Civic Center grounds. Drop by from 7 to 9 p.m. today for free photos with Santa (not Shaka Santa, but a life-size, lively version), along with free milk and cookies. You have until Jan. 1 to enjoy the display.
Pearl Harbor Festival of Lights info: bit.ly/2hAc2AT
City Lights info: honolulucitylights.org
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
Impersonators celebrate pop icons’ holiday hits
A lot of pop stars have recorded Christmas songs, so why not let their impersonators sing holiday tunes?
Drop in on Waikiki showroom act Rock A Hula this weekend and hear the likes of Elvis, Michael and Celine serenade you with songs of the season. You might hear Elvis croon “Blue Christmas,” a hit from “Elvis’ Christmas Album,” first released in 1957 and rereleased twice since.
Or you might hear something from Celine Dion’s 1998 recording, “These Are Special Times,” or perhaps the joyous “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” from the “Jackson 5 Christmas Album,” the only full-length album of holiday music in which Michael Jackson appeared. (He did plenty of holiday-themed singles and videos, too.)
Joined by Rock A Hula’s hula dancers and fireknife performers, the tribute artists will sing the usual array of pop hits and holiday tunes and will join together for melodic merriment, too.
Cost: $33-$55 show only, dinner packages $66-$185. Info: rockahulahawaii.com or 629-7469.
SATURDAY
Trade seasonal solitude for a ‘Grinch-mas’ party
Hawaii is a lovely place, but many are pressured with responsibilities or extra work, or are far away from loved ones or lonely during the holidays. It can be easy to become a Grinch. DJ Nocturna has the antidote for you, with her “Grinch-mas” party, which starts on Christmas Eve and goes into the wee hours of Christmas Day.
“There are many people who don’t have a family here in Honolulu for whatever reason — family on the mainland or abroad — or people who feel alone during the holidays,” the party organizer said. Her party provides “a place to socialize and have a good time.”
Along with fellow DJs Lana Saldania and Rhombus, partygoers will hear hits from the ’80s, from classic soul and R&B to rock, new wave and disco. It’s free if you were born in December or are a Sagittarius.
Cost: $5. Info: djnocturna.com, 21+
