Start spreading the news: The Punahou Carnival is only a week away.
The annual fundraiser for Punahou School’s financial aid program is Friday and Saturday and will feature the usual array of rides, games, entertainment, crafts and activities. But this year’s carnival has a Big Apple twist.
The carnival’s 64 booths will feature names and decor surrounding the theme "New York, New York: The Carnival that Never Sleeps." For example, the carnival’s famous malasadas will be sold at "Batter-y Park," the dunking booth is "Splatue of Liberty." Of course the plants booth is dubbed "Madison Square Gardens."
Keep an eye out for a pair of New York City’s iconic yellow taxicabs — the class of 2015 members made taxi costumes out of cardboard boxes and will be wearing them around the carnival.
Joshua See and Becky Yim took on the role of helming this year’s carnival. And what are the co-chairs looking forward to the most? The jams and jellies.
Yim can’t get enough of the lilikoi butter, which she eats every day for breakfast with some peanut butter and a bagel. And See loves the mango chutney, which "has the perfect amber-brown-golden color. … It’s delicious."
This year there are two new rides from EK Fernandez: the Magic Maze and Jungle Twist. Magic Maze is a fun house with a medieval theme that carnival-goers of all ages can explore. Younger children can take a ride on the Jungle Twist, a miniature roller coaster decorated with monkeys, a giraffe, a zebra and a ferocious lion.
The entertainment lineup is packed, including Danny Carvalho and Maunalua performing Friday evening and Henry Kapono on Saturday night.
For the third year in a row, the iCarnival app is available to help carnival-goers navigate the fairgrounds. The free mobile app includes a map of all the booths, a schedule of events and a Twitter feed.
"The carnival’s just a great experience for the family and a great way for us to give back to the community, to the financial aid program," See said.
The carnival runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. both days. While there is some on-campus parking, several nearby schools and churches are offering carnival parking as fundraisers. Off-campus parking sites include Central Union Church ($10), St. Clement’s Church ($16), Lutheran Church of Honolulu ($15) and Maryknoll Grade School ($12 for four hours, $40 all day) and Maryknoll High School ($10 for four hours, $30 all day, after 1 p.m. Friday).
