Three community leaders — singer Jimmy Borges, businessman Seymour Kazimirski and music and recording exec Leah Bernstein — have launched a spirited Make ‘Em Smile campaign, tapping local luminaries and celebs to join in and visit and entertain youngsters afflicted with cancer. The program, the 78-year-old Borges says, requires a few hours a week from the participants, who journey to Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children on Wednesdays to bring cheer to the ailing patients. Shriners Hospital has added Fridays, and Tripler Medical Center heard about the program and signed on, too. Folks such as Loretta Ables Sayre, Augie Rey, Tahiti Rey and Johnny Valentine already have given time and talent to the cause.
Beginning Tuesday, Make ‘Em Smile expands to Kaiser Medical Center at Moanalua, which thrills Borges because that’s the facility where he underwent liver cancer treatment. "Three years cancer-free," he exclaims. "This next one is close to my heart." So from 10 a.m. to noon, Aaron Domingo, who volunteers every week, will help welcome the fourth hospital to the roster. "The look on the children’s faces (and their parents’) when they see that they are the stars of the day, is priceless and filled with tears," Borges says.
Kazimirski is the one who had the idea for Smile — he tapped Bernstein, then Borges, and the rest is history. To kokua or join in, call Kazimirski at 551-3222 or 591-1111. …
MOVEMENTS: Congrats to the Tihati ohana for negotiating a deal with the Pacific Beach Hotel’s Grand Ballroom, where its new spectacle, "Te Moana Nui," premieres Feb. 3. Hotel general manager Rob Robinson is thrilled about his acquisition, the first ongoing production on the hotel premises. "We look forward to a long association," he says, though he has his work cut out. Tihati ended a run at Sheraton’s Princess Kaiulani Hotel on New Year’s Eve; it was at the PK’s Ainahau Ballroom where Tihati logged nearly 40 years of Polynesian entertainment.
But because the PK will close this summer, Tihati president Afatia Thompson and vice president Misty Tufono, the son and daughter of company co-founders Jack and Cha Thompson, successfully relocated the group to the new address to advance Tihati into its next chapter. The PK has no immediate plans to stage a replacement show in the Ainahau space for the next six or seven months, according to general manager Fred Orr, who expressed disappointment that Sheraton let this one slip away. …
And Lito Capina, a longtime Waikiki performer who once worked for Tihati, is staging a going-away party for his pals this afternoon at what he calls his "Lito’s Garden Oasis" in Kaimuki. He’ll be mobile and on the move this year, spending half the year in the Philippines to do indie films and work on soap operas. He will also conduct dance and drama workshops at Laguna College in his hometown of San Pablo City and Far Easter University in Manila and Makati City. He retired last year from the Westin Moana and Hale Koa hotels and has become a licensed Zumba instructor. "Sixty is the new 40," he says as he embarks on his new show biz goal. …
HERE ‘N’ THERE: Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder stopped by Ward Yamashita‘s and Dennie Chong‘s Hungry Ear Records before Christmas to talk story and sign autographs. …
Director Vanita Rae Smith has another Readers Theatre coming up at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and at 2 p.m. Jan. 12. The play, "Ladies of the Alamo," corrals a dynamic quintet of actresses: Cecilia Forham, Jo Prudin, Shari Lynn, Sylvia Hormann-Alper and Susan Ritz. Admission is free, but call 254-4885 to assure seats. …
And that’s "Show Biz." …
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Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist; reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com; read his Show and Tell Hawaii blog at www.staradvertiser.com.
