Pan-Pacific Festival Ho'olaule'a

Happy Aloha Friday, if it is, and as always, a Happy Aloha Friday, if it isn't. The tents for the food booths for tonight's Ho'olaule'a on Kalakaua Ave, the main drag in Waikiki town, are set up in the morning, many hours in advance of tonight's annual block party.


They place the empty tents on the sidewalks then around 4pm start moving the tents onto the street itself for the vendors to fill with the fold-up tables and stoves and bbq grills and fuud. What this means is that at the 4 o'clock hour traffic starts getting gridlock. Don't even believe that "Kalakaua Ave closed at 5pm" mobile sign that the city stations on the street. The vendors don't bring their own tents or canopies. Either they aren't allowed to or it's better for them to collectively contract out the setting up the tents to a single tent company. Also, although the participants of the Pan-Pacific Festival (June 8-10) are either pacific islanders or from pacific rim countries, the food vendors for tonight's block party are all local food establishments, restaurants, lunch trucks, etc., so the annual block party has been a windfall to the local food entrepreneurs. The Pan-Pacific-ers themselves aren't part of the conversation in regards to the menu items irregardless of the 'Pan-Pacific' ethnicity aspect of the festival's theme. It's far from Tonight is an enjoy the taste of different Pacific cultures, pan nor pot. Oh well, do the French serve french fries, or the Italians, chef boyardee. That is, the vendors sell and showcase the very specialties that are popular at their island restaurants which resembles nothing authentic to Pan-Pacific recipes irregardless of the occasion. That being that, judging by the usual sell-outs at many food booths it's not a bad thing.



This is as near to tonight's ho'olaule'a that I'll get. Too many people packed together for my comfort level.