Latest / The One Oʻahu Podcast with Mayor Rick Blangiardi / Warren Mamizuka and Chassity Santiago on Honolulu City Lights 2026

Transcript

Warren Mamizuka and Chassity Santiago on Honolulu City Lights 2026 · The One Oʻahu Podcast with Mayor Rick Blangiardi

• 0:14
  Welcome to the One Oahu podcast.
• 0:16
  I'm your host, Brandi Higa, and we're in October,
• 0:19
  but soon it will look like Christmas in October here on the Fasi Civic Grounds.
• 0:24
  Joining me now with more on what we can expect for this year's
• 0:26
  Honolulu City Lights are two of the celebrations
• 0:29
  coordinators Warren Mamizuka and Chassity Santiago.
• 0:32
  Thank you all for joining me.
• 0:34
  You are welcome.
• 0:35
  Thank you for having us.
• 0:36
  So we're in October.
• 0:38
  We're we're about to deck the halls.
• 0:39
  This seems a little earlier than normal.
• 0:41
  Is it earlier than normal?
• 0:43
  For this year? Yes. And why is that?
• 0:46
  Well, you know, last year we were split on locations.
• 0:50
  So we're actually moving show aloha back
• 0:54
  to the Honolulu Civic Center grounds.
• 0:57
  And so we're kind of like redoing everything.
• 1:01
  So we, we kind of we don't know how long it'll take us to set up.
• 1:04
  So we decided to start in October.
• 1:06
  And Chass maybe you can take this one.
• 1:08
  But you know for anyone passing by,
• 1:10
  it's pretty obvious there’s construction going on here with Show Aloha coming back.
• 1:14
  What does that mean for the displays, the set up,
• 1:17
  you know, how will people be walking around campus?
• 1:19
  What will it look like?
• 1:20
  Yes. So as we have a very large construction fence
• 1:24
  on top of the Fasi grounds.
• 1:25
  So something a little bit different that, hasn't happened in previous years is
• 1:29
  we're actually working with our state partners
• 1:31
  over in DAGS So a portion of the Kalanimoku
• 1:35
  grassy area will feature two of our annual Christmas displays.
• 1:40
  We'll also have some of Show Aloha’s lighted trees and some benches as well.
• 1:45
  For folks
• 1:46
  who want to enjoy the amazing food vendors that we have here on the grounds.
• 1:50
  So instead of having them split apart,
• 1:53
  everything's going to be kind of intertwined this year.
• 1:55
  And you mentioned the traditional displays with show Aloha when it comes to,
• 2:00
  you know, the traditional
• 2:02
  Shaka Santa, Tutu Mele-type displays, what can folks expect, what's coming back.
• 2:06
  So we'll definitely have Shaka Santa tutu mele.
• 2:09
  We're always going to have them.
• 2:10
  The ABC blocks, the Mele Kalikimaka the Hauoli Makahiki
• 2:14
  Hou blocks will be back as well.
• 2:16
  Raggedy Ann will be featuring on our grounds.
• 2:18
  I don't think we've had her on here for a while, for a while, for a while.
• 2:22
  And then we also have,
• 2:24
  some cute little gnome guys who will be on the grounds as well.
• 2:28
  And what can we expect with Show Aloha?
• 2:30
  Because there is a smaller footprint.
• 2:31
  But will we still have things like a train or a light tunnel?
• 2:35
  There will be a train.
• 2:37
  There will be a light tunnel,
• 2:39
  just one light tunnel.
• 2:41
  You know, last time we were here wtih Show Aloha we had two light tunnels.
• 2:44
  Yeah.
• 2:45
  We'll have a lot of arches along the walkways.
• 2:48
  We also have a train station.
• 2:50
  We'll be running four trains, beginning after opening night.
• 2:56
  We'll also, you know, we're
• 2:58
  going to utilize a construction fence, so we'll be hanging some motifs.
• 3:02
  You'll probably do it every 30, 40ft.
• 3:06
  So we're trying to light the area up and
• 3:10
  try to get people to spread out.
• 3:12
  You know they can walk around on Beretania
• 3:15
  come down on Alapai, back on King Street.
• 3:19
  We'll also be,
• 3:21
  doing some of our light displays over at the JTMC building.
• 3:25
  Oh, okay. Yeah.
• 3:27
  And what do you want the public to know?
• 3:29
  Anyone can take this, but what do you want the public to know about Santa's
• 3:32
  Village this year?
• 3:33
  So Santas Village will be in Mission Memorial Auditorium the whole time.
• 3:37
  It'll be the whole time from opening night all the way up to December 30th.
• 3:42
  Santa's village on opening night, the hours will be from 7 p.m.
• 3:46
  to 9 p.m.,
• 3:47
  and throughout the month of December, it will be featured from 530 to 8 p.m..
• 3:52
  We are going to be doing
• 3:53
  a reservation style system for anybody who would like to visit.
• 3:56
  We will welcome walk ins, but to highly recommend the reservation.
• 4:00
  And to do that you can visit us on HNL City lights.com,
• 4:04
  which will have a live link for folks to sign up.
• 4:06
  And the themed nights did really well last year.
• 4:09
  What kind of themed nights can folks expect this year?
• 4:12
  So we are going to be having,
• 4:14
  two halau that are being be here for our special nights.
• 4:18
  We are pending a solidify date for our UH night,
• 4:21
  I think, which is my one of my favorites, but my actual favorites was cookies
• 4:25
  and milk, because who does not love cookies and milk during Christmas time?
• 4:29
  And what else is new this year?
• 4:30
  Any any new food vendors?
• 4:32
  Any kind of movie night?
• 4:34
  What's new?
• 4:34
  There'll be a few, new food vendors, you know, one of our sponsors,
• 4:40
  friends of Honolulu City Lights,
• 4:43
  you know, they take applications and, get food vendors out here.
• 4:47
  Show Aloha will also, have a food vendor.
• 4:50
  He will have his, lunch wagon out here.
• 4:53
  So, double decker bus,
• 4:56
  designed as a kitchen.
• 4:58
  Also, I believe Dippin Dots will be here as well.
• 5:02
  And I, you know, we're trying to keep prices affordable this year.
• 5:08
  You know, we last year was pretty affordable.
• 5:12
  But we try to work on a menu that could be even more affordable,
• 5:16
  for all the families that come out here and visit.
• 5:18
  Yeah, and that's what's new.
• 5:21
  But let's go back to what remains the same.
• 5:23
  Still have the traditional department trees, wreath contest and all that. Yes.
• 5:26
  Looking forward to, this year's, department trees.
• 5:29
  And can we talk about this year's theme?
• 5:32
  What is it and what do you expect folks to do it?
• 5:35
  This year's theme.
• 5:36
  So this year's theme is Christmas in the country.
• 5:39
  We're kind of paying homage to the paniolo theme.
• 5:42
  I expect lots of cowboy hats, lots of cowboy
• 5:45
  boots, lots of palaka I mean, look at what I'm wearing right now.
• 5:49
  Yeah. So I expect to see a lot of that.
• 5:51
  And we do have some very, very enthusiastic people in the city
• 5:55
  who are very excited to display Christmas in the country on their trees as well.
• 5:59
  Yeah. Warren, what will you be wearing on opening night?
• 6:02
  Oh, boy.
• 6:04
  Maybe my cowboy hat.
• 6:07
  I like a shirt.
• 6:08
  Jeans, my boots.
• 6:12
  And then on opening night, what can we expect?
• 6:16
  A lot of fun.
• 6:17
  A lot of fun this year.
• 6:19
  The parade,
• 6:21
  you know, we're trying to get more city agencies involved.
• 6:25
  I'm glad to say that our Halawa yard there will be entering this year,
• 6:29
  so, can't wait to see what they do.
• 6:33
  We have a lot of, high school marching bands.
• 6:35
  They're excited.
• 6:37
  And if I'm not mistaken, I believe the, University of Hawaii band
• 6:40
  will also be marching in a parade.
• 6:42
  So that's pretty huge.
• 6:44
  You know, as
• 6:46
  as always, we'll have the Royal Hawaiian Band leading us off.
• 6:49
  So it's pretty exciting this year.
• 6:52
  And of course, that parade makes its way down King Street.
• 6:55
  It passes Honolulu Hale.
• 6:56
  And that's where the big tree, will be lit on opening night.
• 7:00
  Do we know where the tree is coming from this year?
• 7:02
  The tree is going to be coming.
• 7:03
  Actually the same location from last year.
• 7:05
  Oh, it's going to be coming from Kahala.
• 7:08
  And both of you have had
• 7:10
  your hands in Honolulu City Lights for a few years now.
• 7:13
  When everything comes together,
• 7:16
  do you ever get a chance to step back and kind of watch the kids either
• 7:20
  enjoying the parade or families smiling and laughing at the department trees?
• 7:24
  Is there a particular moment that has stood out for either of you so far?
• 7:28
  This made you feel maybe particularly proud,
• 7:31
  or maybe even, you know, emotional so far.
• 7:34
  When it comes to HCL?
• 7:35
  Well, I think opening night is a very special night.
• 7:40
  But I don't think we really get to see
• 7:42
  everything that, the sponsors have done.
• 7:46
  Our city, staff, you know, contributed.
• 7:50
  So, for me, it's normally like,
• 7:52
  maybe the second night where you can actually relax a little bit.
• 7:56
  There's so much things going on opening night.
• 7:59
  You know, Chassity’s working hard.
• 8:01
  She's all over the place, and,
• 8:04
  you know, so.
• 8:05
  What about for you? Yes.
• 8:06
  I think my favorite moment, I, I,
• 8:09
  I have a few of them, but my favorite moments in opening night
• 8:12
  is when mayor lights tree because, you know, everything around.
• 8:16
  It's kind of a little bit dim.
• 8:18
  And then when that tree is lit and all the surrounding lights,
• 8:20
  you could hear all the reactions from all the little kids.
• 8:23
  So that's that's one of my favorite moments.
• 8:25
  And then,
• 8:27
  when it's not opening night,
• 8:29
  I am here almost every single night with my kids enjoying it.
• 8:33
  My my my son especially.
• 8:36
  He loves to go on the train ride.
• 8:39
  So those are a couple of my favorite moments in HCL.
• 8:41
  Well, you know, it never gets older. Ya never gets old.
• 8:44
  There's always something new to.
• 8:45
  Especially with,
• 8:47
  Santa and tutu mele.
• 8:49
  You know, you see a lot of the families, they come here year after year,
• 8:54
  and they look so excited, and then they're pretty much the,
• 8:58
  you know, the same location taking photos from the year before.
• 9:03
  So I don't think it ever gets old, you know.
• 9:06
  And that's a joy for me to see that
• 9:09
  a lot of families come out and pretty much the same routine. But,
• 9:13
  they enjoy it.
• 9:14
  Yeah.
• 9:16
  And that's what we're proud of.
• 9:18
  But I know that, you know, even the moment waiting for the switch
• 9:23
  to be flipped, there's a little bit of anxiety.
• 9:26
  What if it doesn't go on?
• 9:28
  Or what if some lights are missing or what is something goes wrong?
• 9:31
  So what's your least favorite part of preparing for HCL?
• 9:36
  It's it's the lighting of the tree. Really?
• 9:38
  Yeah.
• 9:39
  I mean, you know, our our electricians, they're all they're,
• 9:42
  they're testing the tree there certain nights that we come out,
• 9:45
  they test our lights, that test all the lights on the grounds,
• 9:49
  you know, people passing by, they they slow down and it.
• 9:53
  Wow. You know,
• 9:55
  but we have quite a bit of our,
• 9:58
  electrical staff here, and,
• 10:01
  you know, everybody's on standby. So.
• 10:04
  And, yeah, I
• 10:06
  have a lot of comments, you know, from some of my,
• 10:10
  you know, deputies and directors that I work with and they're like,
• 10:14
  a tree will turn on. Right.
• 10:15
  But it has to.
• 10:17
  Chass what about you? Tree.
• 10:19
  Really?
• 10:20
  Yeah.
• 10:20
  The tree, it gives me a lot of anxiety.
• 10:23
  Last year when we did, we also did a tree lighting over at Thomas Square.
• 10:28
  I think there was a there was a second delay.
• 10:32
  So a lot of built up anxiety from that.
• 10:36
  And for those who aren't familiar, can you just take us through
• 10:39
  what it takes to prepare for something like this?
• 10:42
  Because, you know, not just the tree, but in years past,
• 10:44
  you know, Tutu mele has lost a finger during transport or, you know,
• 10:47
  getting them in place has taken hours because maybe it's a different crew,
• 10:51
  you know, what are the things that maybe the public doesn't
• 10:54
  see that you folks put hours into to make sure that this goes on each year?
• 10:58
  Well, you know, we have, Arlene Lardizabal she's with,
• 11:01
  Department of Parks and Recreation.
• 11:03
  So she kind of maintains some of the,
• 11:07
  displays at the warehouse.
• 11:09
  So she's always doing touch ups, working
• 11:11
  with the friends on on larger repairs.
• 11:16
  You know, like.
• 11:16
  No, I mean, we were just,
• 11:19
  we might be one truck down, so.
• 11:23
  But, you know, we're a large city.
• 11:26
  We have a lot of equipment, so we'll just go to the next agency
• 11:30
  to get that truck and other truck involved. And,
• 11:35
  I think, you know, I'm not too concerned about that.
• 11:39
  You know, everybody been doing this
• 11:41
  for a while now, so everybody pulls together.
• 11:45
  Everyone will help each other out. Yeah.
• 11:47
  And then how does it work for is it, you know, by committee?
• 11:50
  How do we decide which displays come.
• 11:52
  Because with a smaller footprint, you know, like you mentioned like, well,
• 11:55
  we'll bring Raggedy Ann because we haven't had some of the displays in a few years.
• 11:58
  But, you know, like the snow family or, you know, the train or there's
• 12:02
  certain displays that maybe might have to be put on hold for this year.
• 12:06
  Who makes that decision?
• 12:07
  And then for, for you guys, how do you deal with, you know,
• 12:10
  those that complain like, well, you know, where does this display this year?
• 12:13
  Well, we, work collaboratively,
• 12:18
  you know, with our co-sponsor and, Arlene,
• 12:21
  you know, she, she takes care of, you know, a lot of the space.
• 12:26
  So she knows the condition. Yeah.
• 12:28
  You know,
• 12:30
  there are some, displays that haven't been out here for a while,
• 12:34
  so we're trying to get that in a rotation.
• 12:38
  Some of the, displays, larger displays.
• 12:41
  Kind of needs a break this year, and hopefully with some repairs
• 12:46
  can get done to it.
• 12:47
  So we can bring that back in,
• 12:50
  for the, next year or the year following.
• 12:53
  But, it's
• 12:56
  we normally go to the warehouse, I think,
• 13:01
  Maybe by March.
• 13:02
  Yeah.
• 13:04
  And then we start going through the list,
• 13:07
  we create a list, and we share that with, the Friends of Honolulu City Lights.
• 13:11
  And we kind of go over, which displays
• 13:14
  will be coming out, you know, the layout of the displays.
• 13:17
  So, takes some it takes a couple of meetings to get everything finalized.
• 13:23
  So it's not as simple as everyone thinks it is.
• 13:27
  And we also have to be mindful, like, you know, little things here
• 13:29
  and there, like, okay, these larger displays,
• 13:31
  we don't want something too large in front of a preschool for safety.
• 13:35
  Right? Yeah, the preschool is there.
• 13:37
  And then we also do
• 13:37
  have to be mindful of like, okay, where can we put electric from?
• 13:41
  Where can we make sure that there's spotlight.
• 13:43
  And then since we are going to be using a portion of the Kalanimoku ground,
• 13:46
  there is a little incline from our pathway on Punchbowl.
• 13:51
  It's over there.
• 13:52
  So like, okay, we can't use very, very heavy things because who knows
• 13:56
  what can make it up that little hill.
• 13:57
  So just little things to consider here and there and make sure that we're spacing
• 14:01
  the larger stuff from the bigger stuff and utilizing the space well.
• 14:05
  Yeah.
• 14:07
  Not just
• 14:08
  inclines, but we also have to deal with weather.
• 14:12
  And that's not just during HCL with the setup as well.
• 14:16
  You guys are both from the Department of Facility Maintenance.
• 14:19
  With the weather last year, how did that affect turnout scheduling?
• 14:23
  Because you guys are in charge of everything
• 14:24
  from theme nights to making sure that the displays stay in place
• 14:28
  to even the ponding on the walkways, how did that affect the last year
• 14:32
  and what are we doing?
• 14:33
  I guess, differently this year?
• 14:36
  Well, you know, last year we did run into, quite a bit of weather.
• 14:40
  Yeah, you know, for a number of nights.
• 14:43
  So that kind of, you know, put a damper
• 14:46
  on the event, you know, with this year's,
• 14:49
  Super El Nino, we're hoping for a little bit drier weather
• 14:54
  that will help.
• 14:55
  Yeah.
• 14:56
  But no matter what, rain or shine.
• 14:58
  Yeah, it's going to happen.
• 14:59
  We'll figure a way to set it up.
• 15:02
  Light it up and keep it going throughout the month of December.
• 15:05
  Yeah, we do have we do have our maintenance staff
• 15:08
  and people from our department that are on standby 24 seven if things do need
• 15:13
  to be reassessed and decisions do need to be called for safety reasons, but
• 15:18
  we're hoping and praying that better,
• 15:20
  better weather compared to last year.
• 15:23
  Christmas in the country.
• 15:25
  Show Aloha moving back, a lot of new a lot of things to be excited about.
• 15:30
  But Chass we'll start with you.
• 15:31
  Come January 1st, 2027.
• 15:35
  What do you want folks to take away from this year's Honolulu City Lights?
• 15:38
  Oh gosh, that's a hard one.
• 15:41
  I just hope people
• 15:42
  appreciate all the hard work that it took to get all of this on one campus.
• 15:48
  You know, everybody sees it all in one, but there are two nonprofits
• 15:52
  that we work with and then also working with all the city departments.
• 15:55
  So I just hope the families enjoy all of our hard work that we put into it.
• 15:59
  And I'm looking forward to any feedback people have, because of course,
• 16:03
  we're always looking to make every year bigger and better.
• 16:07
  What about you, Warren?
• 16:09
  Well,
• 16:10
  I'm just happy that it's back on ground.
• 16:13
  We're not at two locations.
• 16:14
  It makes it a whole lot easier.
• 16:16
  Minimizes the confusion.
• 16:19
  I think more people will be here.
• 16:22
  They will enjoy it more, you know? So
• 16:26
  that's
• 16:27
  that's what I'm looking forward to.
• 16:30
  And again, we are still in the month of October.
• 16:32
  This is not a mistake.
• 16:33
  This is the month of October.
• 16:34
  But the civic grounds will begin to look a lot like Christmas,
• 16:38
  because we are beginning to set up for this year's Honolulu City Lights and city
• 16:42
  for folks who want to find more information.
• 16:44
  What was that website again?
• 16:45
  The website is going to be HNL City lights.com.
• 16:49
  And we'll start with just is there anything that we missed.
• 16:52
  I think I think that is it.
• 16:55
  Our parade for Honolulu City Lights will start over
• 16:58
  at, Aala park at 6 p.m..
• 17:02
  Tentative lighting around 630-645
• 17:05
  ish, depending on kind of how long our ceremony goes.
• 17:09
  And one thing I did want to mention, we do have a very amazing person I'll keep
• 17:13
  as far as who it is a surprise, but I think we're going to have quite a great,
• 17:19
  in-house entertainer
• 17:21
  for our opening act for the opening night.
• 17:24
  Ceremony on December 5th.
• 17:25
  Through cyber fifth. Correct?
• 17:27
  Yeah. On anything we missed?
• 17:29
  Well, yeah, I think we forgot to mention that,
• 17:33
  we are asking our co-sponsors to,
• 17:36
  have some other food vendors here in the morning on the weekdays,
• 17:40
  and also during lunch.
• 17:42
  You know, we do have a lot of traffic in this area, foot traffic
• 17:46
  and, a lot of, state,
• 17:49
  you know, employees and as well as city employees and, you know, private sector.
• 17:54
  And, you know, we want people to come in and, and, you know,
• 17:58
  get a quick bite to eat for breakfast, breakfast burritos and whatnot.
• 18:02
  Poke bowls you know, and,
• 18:06
  makes it easier for everybody, I think, especially for me.
• 18:09
  I probably be here for breakfast.
• 18:12
  Okay, so the food vendors that are on the grounds for
• 18:14
  HCL will likely have extended hours.
• 18:18
  Yes. Okay.
• 18:19
  So the food vendors began vending on the grounds actually, that Sunday.
• 18:24
  Okay. The sixth. Sunday the sixth. Correct.
• 18:26
  But we will have a block party that begins at 4 p.m.
• 18:29
  over on Punchbowl and on opening.
• 18:31
  Night and December 5th. Okay.
• 18:34
  Well, thank you both for your time.
• 18:35
  Next week, we'll be back with Mayor Blangiardi.
• 18:38
  It's been a few weeks, but the mayor is finally back.
• 18:40
  That's next week right here on the One oahu podcast.
• 18:43
  Mahalo for listening.
• 18:44
  Merry Christmas and until next time, Oliver.