Ed Kawamura Sr. is home from Japan just in time for the familys traditional mochi-making on the final weekend between Christmas and New Years. Mochi is the glue to pull everyone family and community together, and that was evident when Ed and his ohana gathered after work at M. Kawamura Farm Enterprises in Lihue to start making the kine, or traditional wooden mallet used for mochi tsuki, Thursday evening (Matthew Kawamura must have been working, or he wouldve been there too).
Ed Kawamura Sr. is home from Japan — just in time for the family’s traditional mochi-making on the final weekend between Christmas and New Year’s. Mochi is the “glue” to pull everyone — family and community — together, and that was evident when Ed and his ohana gathered after work at M. Kawamura Farm Enterprises in Lihue to start making the kine, or traditional wooden mallet used for mochi tsuki, Thursday evening (Matthew Kawamura must have been working, or he would’ve been there too).
Happy birthday, Erica Kleinfeld, who opened the Pacific Fireworks shop (it’s in Hokulei Village shopping center in Puhi now!) on her birthday (how come we’ve followed her for these many years and didn’t know that?). Linda Bargamento said there were the Kauai Hydroseed &Landscaping crews working to help clean the vegetative debris created by the, as Ron Wiley describes, Christmas Eve “super storm” — with these mixes of ying-and-yang events, we’re just waiting for the Year of the Rat (is that what is coming up?) that starts Jan. 25 (Stacie Chiba-Miguel said it comes early this year, and The Shops at Kukuiula are ready!).
Friday was the final Friday of the decade, and welcome home to all those high school alumni who came home for the holidays. Hawaii Pacific University baseball coach Dallas Correa (he said the recent baseball camp was a success — more than 130 young aspiring ball players went! — was enjoying the Kauai Interscholastic Federation girls basketball game with his ohana, and Dawn Serapio (and where was Kaulupono coach Bobby Kamakele?) was joined by Louisa Tanigawa and Brandie Aguinaldo in watching the performance of Waimea’s Kaye Serapio (she’s Dawn’s sister), Hazel Serapio and the Menehune. See photo and story of the first-round-deciding basketball game on B1.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
