When it comes to great people, food and activities, the Waimea Town Celebration has been a place to be in mid-February.
However, this year, due to the pandemic, it will be downsized to a mini celebration, and some entertainment and competitions have been postponed to 2022.
Thomas Nizo, Historic Waimea Theatre manager, wants to make sure everyone is safe while trying to keep the celebration going.
“Because of the pandemic, the regular Waimea Town Celebration, as we’ve grown to know it all over these past generations or decades, is not going to be happening the regular way,” Nizo said.
Kicking off the first event on Saturday, Feb. 13, will be the Historic Waimea Theatre’s virtual event of Kaua‘i Cocktails and Cuisine. It will be a closed event only for sponsors who have contributed to keeping this event open this year.
“And so, some of the donors or sponsors have already budgeted for the event, and just said, ‘Hey, can we provide some kind of relief to the community?” Nizo asked, “So they reached out and said, ‘Hey, can we provide some kind of stress relief or some kind of event for the families, but yet, you know, observing COVID protocols and whatnot?’”
The Waimea Film Festival will be at the Historic Waimea Theatre on Monday, Feb. 15, and will be showing films featured at the 41st annual Hawai‘i International Film Festival in Honolulu, from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.
Kaua‘i kumu hula Troy Lazaro shares mo‘olelo and mele of past legends that shaped his life and gave him the skills to build his halau on.
Malasadas and pronto pups can be preordered online on Feb. 19 for the mini ho‘olaule‘a, which will be broadcast live on Facebook at 6 p.m.
“So, only the best way of doing that was to bring everything internal to the theater because we’re operating under the CDC rules of operating the theater,” Nizo said. “So, temperature-screening, hand-sanitizing, and we went from 270 to 170 seats down to COVID seating, which we committed to just 90.”
In the future, to better protect Kaua‘i residents, Nizo said his theater will undergo a new social-gathering system that was introduced to him by a mainland association.
“I am a member of the International Festival and Events Association,” Nizo said.
“There were event planners who had a bracelet system. So when you check you actually get a bracelet in green, yellow or red. Green is for residents who are comfortable with shakas, high-five and hugs. The yellow is an elbow bump. And the red is like, just don’t touch me. So give me that space. Hopefully, by March we can start pushing that out.”
For tickets or more information see waimeatowncelebration.com/home.html.
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Stephanie Shinno, features, education, business, and community reporter can be reached at 245-0424 or sshinno@thegardenisland.com.
My mom’s friend and her friend used to go to the Waimea theater all the time. They would meet at Lihue shopping center, there they would all car pool to the west side and stop over in Waimea to watch cheap movies. What’s playing in Waimea theater now days?