KAPAA — Nai’a and Neva Burkard are ready to go back to the Hilton Waikola Village, a 62-acre resort on the Big Island. A four-night stay and $1,000 spending money were the sisters’ prize for winning Nickelodeon’s new game show,
KAPAA — Nai’a and Neva Burkard are ready to go back to the Hilton Waikola Village, a 62-acre resort on the Big Island.
A four-night stay and $1,000 spending money were the sisters’ prize for winning Nickelodeon’s new game show, “Paradise Run.”
“We’re going to go over spring break and take our entire family with us,” Nai’a said.
While Nai’a, 14, is excited to go shopping at the resort, Neva, 12, said she wants to play with the dolphins.
The sisters were one of 10 Kauai kids who competed in the game show, hosted by Nickelodeon star Daniella Monet, that took place on the Hilton Waikola Village grounds.
As part of the competition, contestants raced around the hotel, competing in three legs that challenged their physical and mental ability.
Nai’a and Neva, whose episode aired Thursday, were challenged to recreate a tiki tower; remember phrases on a sign seen while going down a water slide and put them in the correct order in which they appeared; retrieve a pingpong ball from a water jug; and solve a riddle. The answer to the riddle was the name of the suite their parents were in, which was the end of the race.
It took them about half an hour to find the right suite, Nai’a said.
“I thought we were in last place,” she said.
Neva added: “When we came through the door of the suite, I almost fell down because I was running so fast.”
But the sisters ended the competition in first place.
Their mother, Marisol Carranza Smith, credits their first-place win with their decision-making and strategic skills.
“They saw what halls the other kids were coming from, so they knew not to waste their time going that way,” she said.
Carranza Smith, who had been waiting in the suite for six hours, said she got emotional when she saw her children come through the door.
“The anticipation was unreal,” she said. “When I saw them, I just started crying. But part of it may have been that they were gone for six hours, and I didn’t know where they were.”
The sisters heard about the game show through Maile Taylor, owner of Maile Taylor Talent & Modeling Agency.
Taylor said she got involved in the show when MysticArt Pictures, an entertainment firm based in Los Angeles, contacted the agency Casting Kauai for auditions.
Auditions were open to kids between the ages of 11 and 14 who were either siblings or best friends, Taylor said.
Every Hawaiian Island was represented on the show, she added.
After hosting casting calls around Kauai, Taylor sent the names of 44 kids to MysticArt Pictures, which whittled that number down to 10.
Auditions and screenings, which involved teammates appearing together to talk about why they love Hawaii and their hobbies, were done via Face Time, she said.
Those who made the cut also had to send in a short video.
Nai’a and Neva danced to “Trap Queen” by Fetty Wrap.
“Dancing is something we’re comfortable with,” Neva said. “We’ve been doing it for a long time.”
But despite knowing the routine, the audition process was nerve-wracking, Nai’a said.
“We didn’t know if what we did was good enough,” she said.
Kahea Botelho, another Kauai resident who competed on the show, agreed.
“It was nerve-wracking because someone was going to be watching it,” she said.
Botelho, 13, and her teammate, Jenna Takeuchi, 12, are friends from Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School.
Botelho and Takeuchi’s routine included a handshake and a dance, Botelho said.
“At the end, we said, ‘Stop hammer time,’ and started dancing,” she said. “I think that’s what got us in.”
Producers surprised the kids who made the cut by calling them in for one last meeting. But in reality, Monet called in on Skype, and told them they made it on to the show, Carranza Smith said.
Botelho and Takeuchi, whose episode aired Feb. 19, competed in the same challenges as the Burkard sisters.
Finding the right suite was the hardest challenge, Botelho said.
Botelho and Takeuchi, who were in second place for most of the race, ended up coming in last because they couldn’t find the room.
“It’s very frustrating that we lost,” Botelho said. “We were very behind, but it looks we made it there faster on TV.”
But she didn’t go away empty-handed. The last place award was snorkel gear, although Botelho says she already has plenty of that.
“But it was worth it being on TV,” she said. “It was good for the experience.”
It was the first time all four girls were on TV. They said they learned a lot about the filming process, which began in May.
“It was trippy, seeing how TV actually works,” Neva said. “The first team to win a challenge had to wait until everyone was done.”
Additionally, the kids had to run around with microphones attached to their clothes, were followed around by camera crews, had to wait for them to set up the cameras and then had to suffer through multiple takes for voice overs.
“I definitely didn’t think we were going to be doing things over and over again,” Botelho said. “It was like, ‘Oh my gosh, when is this going to be over?’”
The girls also had to keep what they were doing a secret.
“We couldn’t tell anyone for about a year,” Carranza Smith said. “We signed a contract, saying we wouldn’t tell anyone until Nickelodeon started airing previews.”
That day the previews aired, the secret was out, Nai’a said.
“We told everyone we were going to be on the show,” she said.
Once people knew they were on it, they started asking if they won, Neva said.
“We just had to tell them we couldn’t say,” she said.
When the sisters’ episode finally aired Thursday night, their friends were sending them pictures and videos of the show, Neva said.
Nai’a added: “We were screaming so much when we saw ourselves on TV. I knew we won, but it was still exciting.”
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Jenna Carpenter, education reporter, can be reached at 245-0441 or jcarpenter@thegardenisland.com.
