Josh Pajela of Kukui Grove Center said the shopping center’s Holiday Lights will be held up until after the Rotary Club of Kaua‘i Lights on Rice holiday lights parade on Friday.
“The Holiday Lights will start at 8 p.m. on Friday only,” Pajela said.
After being formally inaugurated with a special performance by the Aloha Dance Studio dancers and a contingent of Kaua‘i Classic Cars, the Kukui Grove Center will present its outdoor light and music special on Dec. 3, 8, 9 and 10 from 7 p.m. at the Jamba Juice and Starbucks entrance to the mall.
From Dec. 16 through Dec. 23, the Holiday Lights will be unleashed nightly at 7 p.m.
Kukui Grove Center will also host Hana Hou performances on Dec. 29 and 30, starting at 7 p.m., before the lights disappear until the 2023 holidays.
Over at the Historic County Building and its lawn on Rice Street in Lihu‘e, the Festival of Lights quietly flipped the switch on Thanksgiving night, when Elizabeth Freeman appeared to see if the weather had undid any of the work that volunteers put in to celebrate its 26th year of lighting the historic building and yard.
“This year, everything is light emitting diodes,” Freeman said. “We’re 100 percent LED, and Warren Koga, the county’s electrician, said we’re going to be saving some money on amperage.”
The Festival of Lights, limited to Christmas trees featuring homemade folk art decorations because of social distancing, and the yard are on every night from 6 p.m. until around 11:30 p.m. through the end of the year. The lights are turned on in the morning from around 4:30 until 6:30 a.m.
Santa and Mrs. Claus are expected to enhance the lighting display on Friday with the passing of The Rotary Club of Kaua‘i Lights on Rice holiday parade that will end at Eiwa Street between the Historic County Building and the Kaua‘i Museum.
On Saturday, the West Kaua‘i Lions Club will be among those turning on the lights at the specially decorated Hofgaard Park and Waimea town. The Waimea town lights will remain on through the holidays, but will be especially bright on Dec. 17 when the historic Waimea Theater hosts the annual Lighted Christmas Parade that ends at Hofgaard Park.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
That’s late if you want to take your Keiki. 😟