Mayor Derek Kawakami practiced his release Friday when he approached the bowling alley with the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative Power Rangers team of David Bissell, Beth Tokioka and Shelley Paik.
Mayor Derek Kawakami practiced his release Friday when he approached the bowling alley with the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative Power Rangers team of David Bissell, Beth Tokioka and Shelley Paik.
The group was met by Wonder Woman Kaulana Mossman, the original Little Brother Dennis Brown, Erin Gaines, Nicole Cowan, and a menagerie of characters at the sold-out Big Brothers Big Sisters fundraiser that returned to in-person celebrating after being shut down by the pandemic.
In the audience (no, mayor’s Protocol Officer Kaleo Carvalho was at the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation boys volleyball game at the Bernice Hundley Gym), Little Brother Kyan Kamala (how many of you remember when Nicole Cowan and Kyan’s Big Brother arranged for a visit by Kaua‘i Fire Department’s Kaiakea station on Kyan’s birthday?) tried to find the right-sized ball in the newly redecorated Rock and Bowl setting with DJ Marvin DeVera (how many Bowling for Kid’s Sake is this, DJ?).
Mayor didn’t realize that he was going to be pitted against Kyan in rolling the symbolic first ball during the fundraiser that, according to Wonder Woman, raised some $20,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters Kaua‘i.
The mayor’s ball rolled dangerously close to the gutter, but hung on to take out a single pin.
And Kyan?
His ball rolled true, and knocked-knocked more than one pin, to the cheering of the sold-out Kaua‘i Bowl in Rice Shopping Center in Lihu‘e.
Congratulations and mahalo to all!
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
