Happy Camper for Sunday, December 13, 2020

Kudos to Donna Lynn Loo, Grace Delos Reyes, Kealoha Takahashi and all those Kaua‘i Retired and Senior Volunteer Program Advisory Board members, county Agency on Elderly Affairs staff and volunteers who made the recognition drive-thru a success.

Happy Camper for Friday, December 11, 2020

Mahalo, Kealani and Cristiano Keoho, for coming to Kaua‘i and spending time with mom Capt. Shawn Keoho of The Salvation Army.It’s probably the best Christmas present she’ll get this season, just being here and staying healthy.

Happy Camper for Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Santa in Paradise’s wings have been trimmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He is not able to make his many appearances during the holidays to meet children and families who wait all year to visit the jolly icon of Christmas.

Happy Camper for Monday, December 7, 2020

Shopping for the holidays is getting serious, as David Sosner, Kukui Grove Center’s general manager, spent Saturday unpacking and placing all that new outdoor furniture (don’t move the seats around.

Happy Camper for Sunday, December 6, 2020

Lee Steinmetz and Bev Brody would’ve been in a chicken-skin state Friday night (“You want adorable?” asked Linda Kelekoma as she took out her Christmas-tree jacket she got on a trip to Disneyland; nope, not this year) when several hundred people took to the sidewalks on Rice Street from the Historic County Building to Kalena Park (“We live close by so we brought the family out to see the lights,” said Jade Wai‘ale‘ale Battad).

Happy Camper for Friday, December 4, 2020

Congratulations to David Bissell and the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative ‘ohana on the groundbreaking of the Anahola Service Center that was made possible through the partnership and cooperation of the Anahola Hawaiian Homestead Association, the Homestead Community Development Corporation and state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Happy Camper for Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Laurie Ho is already working on getting kadomatsu (you know, the traditional Japanese New Year’s decoration with bamboo, pine and plum blossoms?) for the Pau Hana Market that is enjoyed its second Monday at Kukui Grove Center. Even Melissa McFerrin-Warrack came out of her office to get social-media photos.

Happy Camper for Monday, November 30, 2020

So, not only was the moon full (it’s called the “beaver moon” because the Indians knew the beavers would go to their lodges for the winter because it’s the last full moon before winter), there was an eclipse (called a “penumbral lunar eclipse”) that started around 9:30 p.m. and lasted for about four hours.

Happy Camper for Sunday, November 29, 2020

Kudos to the many hands and hearts that served up Thanksgiving meals around the island for people who just needed a bit of aloha to brighten their day of giving thanks!

Happy Camper for Monday, November 23, 2020

Many good, loving hands working together to help each other — just in time for Thanksgiving. Novelyn Hinazumi said it all Saturday when Child & Family Service teamed with the General Contractors Association of Hawai‘i (great job getting those 20 Kaua‘i bodies out, Trinette Kaui — yes, coach Wes Kaui was helping Lawton Sugihara and retired Kaua‘i Police Department Acting Chief Mike Contrades with traffic) for the third Festival of Hope for Families distribution at Crossroads Christian Fellowship in Kapa‘a.

Happy Camper for Sunday, November 22, 2020

Kudos and mahalo to Dan King and the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort & Spa ‘ohana on the great GHK Give Thanks Drive Thru Shop - 2020 kine, where the hotel keeps the Thanksgiving tradition (even Miss Kaua‘i Filipina Tiffany Sagucio got a turkey to cook for Thanksgiving) of giving and sharing alive.

Happy Camper for Friday, November 20, 2020

Black Friday week starts Monday at Choi Village next to the Ross Dress for Less in Waipouli, said Meghan Matsuda-Blaylock (she was helping at the Kaua‘i Housing Connect outreach Tuesday at Salt Pond Beach Park in Hanapepe), which will offer crafters a place to sell their wares during this COVID-19 pandemic when a lot of the smaller craft fairs and gatherings have disappeared.

Happy Camper for Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Kudos to Ashton Varner of the County Housing Agency and the Kaua‘i Community Alliance (mahalo, Melody Lopez of Catholic Charities Hawai‘i) on hosting the second Kaua‘i Connect (this should be a community event rather than just for the homeless…oops, forgot that this is National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week).

Happy Camper for Monday, November 16, 2020

Happy birthday, Kailani Orner, whose special day was reason to cut hula practice short (Puhi Park Produce is a great place to practice for the Moloa‘a girls, kumu Rhoda Libre said) so the group could visit Orly’s Patisserie for some celebratory souffle.

Happy Camper for Sunday, November 15, 2020

Yes, we are aware of the tremendous support Mary Lardizabal (she’s a Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 168 sponsored by the Immaculate Conception Church) provided son Christian Lardizabal on his path (the mural dedication was only the first step, Mary said) to earning the Eagle Scout award.

Happy Camper for Friday, November 13, 2020

Congratulations to Christian Lardizabal on the completion of the mural paying tribute to veterans and service personnel of the armed forces. The mural is Christian’s Eagle Scout project, and keeps alive the string of Eagle Scout honors for his family. His father, Anson Lardizabal, had his Eagle pin on during the ceremony, and Christian’s grandfather, Dr. Raymond “RG” Nemer, is also an Eagle Scout.

Happy Camper for Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Congratulations to Fred Cowell, Darla Domingo and all those Kaua‘i Coffee Company ‘ohana (even the customers — the bear cap was pretty awesome — talk about how good the people are) on the launch of the new sampling bar that addresses some of the issues generated by the COVID-19, at the visitor center in Numila.

Happy Camper for Monday, November 9, 2020

Happy birthday, Larry Rivera, who spent part of his special day seranading the Lions Clubs, who devoted part of Saturday to waving American flags as a “Mahalo, Veterans!” gesture on Rice Street fronting the Historic County Building in Lihu‘e.