NUKOLI‘I — Lahela Tuzon got to celebrate her 9th birthday with her friends Saturday at the Aqua Kauai Beach Resort.
Tuzon was enjoying the pancake breakfast at the fundraiser for the Visitor Industry Charity Walk, which is coming up on May 14.
“My grandma Diana works here,” Tuzon said. “My parents are sitting on the next table.”
“Bacon is wonderful,” added Dannalyn Keale-Ho, one of the girls with Tuzon. “I like the pancakes. And the pineapple. The eggs? Eh.”
David Sosner, the general manager for the Kauai Beach Resort, said they had pre-sold more than 500 tickets for the meal of pancakes, eggs, bacon and fresh pineapple. The meals could either be eaten in-house or taken out through a drive-through pick-up station.
“We had a lot of people doing breakfast before work,” Sosner said. “We have the housekeeping staff from the Aston Kauai Shores here having breakfast before they report for work, and earlier, Tire Warehouse sent someone over to pick up meals for whoever was working there Saturday morning. We prepared for 800 meals, and with the ticket sales and people walking in, we should do about 700 meals.”
Guests who dined in could enjoy live entertainment, a variety of activity booths for keiki, a silent auction for adults, and an all-you-could-eat breakfast.
“This works really well,” said Beth Haddock, the food and beverage director. “We had a concert Friday night so we had to turn this place real fast for the breakfast. But we had guests who stayed over after the concert. They’re starting to come in now.”
The event was coordinated through the efforts of Maile Lewis, Sherry Nakashima and Lean Javier.
“If this works, maybe it’ll help our percentage increase,” Sosner said. “That way our mayor can win.”
The Visitor Industry Charity Walk hosted by the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, Kauai Chapter, continues its countdown with its Countdown to Charity Walk on Saturday from 10 a.m. at the Kukui Grove Center where last-minute walkers are able to register for the May 14 walk.
Exhibit booths from recipients of the Charity Walk funds will be available with information on how the proceeds of the walk impact their operations and services. A silent auction featuring values from participating resorts and other community businesses and organizations and entertainment adds to the Mother’s Day weekend at the Kukui Grove Center.
