Stars flashing, lights pulsing over handrails, LED icicles cascading from tarpaulin carports — it can be argued that Waipahu is the most Christmassy town on the island.
Oh, sure, other communities have pretty lights and carefully curated yard displays. Makiki, mauka of the H-1, is charming at night with many balconies in the high-rise apartments lit up with colorful bulbs. The Waiau Power Plant has Rudolph and all his buddies, and if you’re a passenger in the car, you can count to see if they’re all there, Dasher through Blitzen. Tripler has a majestic tree of lights up on the hill that can be seen for miles. The First Assembly of God church in Moanalua has a multimedia display that rivals a Disney light parade. (Don’t just drive past and try to get a look at that one. Stop safely and park. It’s a lot to take in.)
But Waipahu. Glittery Waipahu.
Weave your way down a narrow street like Kahuanani, where cars are parked double in every driveway and along both sides of the shoulder, and behold the glory. There is no coordination between houses. Each design speaks to an individual aesthetic, a “this is us” declaration, and it all works. If there is a repeated element, a common note, it is the colorful parol stars with Tiffany lamp-colored panes that glow and flash. Other than that, it’s a free-for-all of holiday displays, a community effort that appears more collegial than competitive. No one seems to be trying to outdo a neighbor. It’s more like joining in the fun.
There are homes where one string of lights blinks, another twinkles, a third strobes and another pulsates in complete dazzling optical cacophony that makes the heart race. There are some cartoon characters, a few inflatables, but mostly the lights.
Many families don’t just festoon their houses and then go inside and watch TV. They hang outside in the evening and watch to see who is admiring their work. Men sit in their garages with their compadres under beer signs and Green Bay Packers pennants. Middle-school girls cluster together around a wrought-iron table. Some families just stand and face the street to watch the cars that go by, their faces showing a mixture of “What you looking at?” and “Nice, yeah?” In 2017, the holiday spirit is a bit guarded.
Nearby Waikele now has two streets, Anapau and Hopoe, blocked to traffic for nightly synchronized Christmas light shows. Families park nearly half a mile away and walk in with bundled children in jogger strollers and cups of Starbucks cocoa in their hands. It’s a manicured kind of Christmas beauty. Waipahu’s displays seem more spontaneous, but just as joyful.
And as you cruise — safely and respectfully — through the festive neighborhoods of festive Waipahu, you could be treated to a promise of things to come. Off in the (near) distance, you may hear a window-rattling boom followed by an expectant pause and then a burst of color in the sky. Ah, New Year’s. Waipahu may be the most New Year’s-y town on the island.
Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.
