SATURDAY
>> The Republik pays tribute to life of local nightlife personality
The life of Christa Wittmier, blogger, DJ and party-organizer supreme, will be celebrated this weekend at The Republik.
Wittmier, who became known as “Super CW,” died in January on the mainland of complications from cancer. Her blogs about her battle against the disease and her efforts to raise awareness about cancer further endeared her to the hip crowd that populated her nightlife-oriented lifestyle.
The evening will include an early viewing of a documentary she was working on, “The Adventures of Super CW,” as well as performances by DJs Gnaraly, Jem, Tittahbyte and Yoozilla, music by Johnny Helm and other guests, and aerial burlesque by Jesa Simpkins and the Volary Vixens.
Pow! Wow! Hawaii, the street art festival in Kakaako, is part of the event with co-founder Jasper Wong auctioning off selected artworks. Wittmier was also a co-founder of Pow! Wow! Hawaii, and her own car, a BMW painted by Pow! Wow! contributing artist Aaron De La Cruz, is part of the sale.
SUPER CW CELEBRATION OF LIFE
>> Where: The Republik
>> When: 5 p.m. Saturday
>> Cost: $25 to $30
>> Info: 941-7469, jointherepublik.com
SATURDAY
>> Comedian George Lopez returns to Blaisdell
After a five-month delay due to last summer’s storm, comedian George Lopez finally gets to bring “The Wall” to Honolulu.
That’s the name of his standup tour. When he was first scheduled to perform it here last summer, the issue of Presidents Trump’s plan to build a border wall had almost faded, though it still stung for Lopez, whose comedy had focused more on social commentary than politics.
“Whatever your politics are, that’s fine, I’m not trying to make you come to my side,” Lopez said at the time. “It’s just that it’s impossible to be silent when the guy who’s running for president calls your culture racist and criminal and animal, and calls the African-American people ‘idiots’ and ‘dogs.’”
With the wall back on the front burner, having caused at least one government shutdown, you can expect some fresh commentary from him now.
Lopez is perhaps the only entertainer to star in four television shows that were also named for him: “George Lopez,” a sitcom about a Hispanic family man who is midlevel manager at a factory; “Lopez Tonight,” a talk show; “Lopez,” a semi-reality series that looks at the humorous side of his current celebrity status; and “Saint George,” a sitcom about an entrepreneur, family man and night-school teacher.
GEORGE LOPEZ
>> Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall
>> When: 8 p.m. Saturday
>> Cost: $47.50 to $67.50
>> Info: 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com
SATURDAY
>> Burlesque dancer Ray Gunn performs at NextDoor
It’s been a bit chilly lately, so what better way to warm up than a sizzling burlesque show?
“Zu,” billed as a performance that will “take you on a tantalizing trip to an erotic, animalistic world with acts,” comes to NextDoor this weekend, courtesy of local burlesque company Pretty Peacock Productions.
The show stars Ray Gunn, winner of the Best Boylesque award at the 23rd Annual Miss Exotic World Competition in 2013. Ranked among the top 100 burlesque performers in the world by 21st Century Burlesque magazine, he mixes contemporary dance, acrobatics, martial arts and pole dancing into his acts, and is respected choreographer as well.
Hawaii’s burlesque performers Miss Savvy, Lola Love, Miss Catwings, Malia Delepenia, The Aphrodisiacs, Alara Deschanel and others will join in on the action, with original choreography in a variety of genres.
“ZU”
Featuring Ray Gunn
>> Where: NextDoor, 43 N. Hotel St.
>> When: 7:30 and 10 p.m. Saturday
>> Cost: $25 advance, $35 at the door
>> Info: prettypeacockproductions.com/events
SUNDAY
>> Documentary pays tribute to Taylor Camp
Famous or infamous depending on your perspective and status at the time, Taylor Camp was an island landmark in the 1970s. It came into being in 1969 when Howard Taylor, older brother of actress Elizabeth Taylor, invited a group of hippies to live on a 7-acre beachfront property he owned on Kauai.
Taylor Camp became a place of refuge for surfers, Vietnam veterans and others who embraced its marijuana-friendly, clothing-optional lifestyle.
Had Taylor chosen to develop the property, that may have been accepted, but the collection of tree houses that Taylor’s guests built for themselves did not comply with the establishment’s plans for Kauai. Taylor Camp was condemned in 1973. The last residents were driven out, and their tree houses burned in 1977, leaving the property open.
Filmmaker John Wehrheim told the story of Taylor Camp in 2010 with his meticulously crafted documentary, “Taylor Camp,” which used historic photographs, film clips, and first-person accounts from former camp residents, people who lived near it and the government officials who shut it down.
Response to the film was so strong that Wehrheim has created a revised version of the film using newly found archival material, interviews with people who weren’t part of the original film, historic surf film footage, and a revised musical score. The new film, “Taylor Camp – The Edge of Paradise,” commemorates the 50th anniversary of the founding of Taylor Camp.
– John Berger, Star-Advertiser
“TAYLOR CAMP”
>> Where: Hawaii Theatre, 1130 Bethel St, Honolulu,
>> When: 7 p.m. Sunday
>> Cost: $10 to $50
>> Info: 528-0506, hawaiitheatre.com
