LIHU‘E — Since the departure of Macy’s, and especially Genki Sushi, people have been asking, “What’s going to happen to the vacated spaces?”
The answer to that question comes partially when the Oval Office sets up and opens on Thursday when the West of the Rest Performing Arts opens “November,” directed by Michele Rundgren in the space formerly occupied by Macy’s Mens Department.
“Everything is going to be set up like the Oval Office,” Rundgren said. “The audience will all be seated like they’re in the office watching the president. We are hoping that by having this performance here, people will start coming over to this side of the shopping center.”
“November” plays at the Kukui Grove location on Oct. 3, 4 and 5 with 7 p.m. curtain times. On Oct. 6, there will be a matinee performance starting at 4 p.m. before the West of the Rest company moves to Kilauea. No alcohol will be served for the PG-17 rated for language at Kukui Grove.
Crystal Yap, of K+M Kauai, said on the first anniversary of K+M at Kukui Grove she is seeking more craft vendors to participate in their monthly K+M Market to be able to fill the space beyond Deja Vu Surf Hawaii.
Melissa McFerrin Warrack, the special events coordinator at Kukui Grove, released the center’s holiday schedule, indicating that, on the heels of “November,” the Kauai Community College Cogs program will be setting up for an “immersive experience planned for Oct. 24 through Oct. 27 in Macy’s Mens.”
“Now that there is a cool other immersive experience, ‘Glow in the Dark,’ on Oct. 28-31 at the Kauai Society of Artists gallery, I am seeing if Cogs may be interested in extending a day or two,” McFerrin Warrack said.
The Halloween Cognition Learning Center, or Cogs, at Kauai Community College will present a sensory-based walk-through experience for the public.
“The Cogs mission is to inspire and encourage inquiry, exploration, and hands-on learning to excite students of all ages,” said a Cogs spokesperson.
“In the past, we have provided many lighted walk-through experiences that included Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) lessons and activities. for the younger students in grades Pre-K through fifth grade. Inspired by The San Francisco Exploratorium and other museum exhibits like Goose Bumps at The California Science Center, the Exploring Fear Exhibit will provide an opportunity for older students, including teens, tweens and college students, and the general public to come and enjoy the Cogs Halloween experience.”
Following the Halloween and Veterans Day tributes, the former Macy’s Mens Department will provide a home for Elizabeth Freeman and the Festival of Lights that ran in the lobby of the historic County Building since 1997.
Scheduled to open on the day following Thanksgiving, the Festival of Lights, featuring the folk art of Auntie Josie Chansky, will close out the year.
