For the past 31 years in Honolulu, the Brothers Cazimero have hosted an annual May Day variety show at the Waikiki Shell Ampitheatre (because May Day is Lei Day!). When living there, I had the privilege of attending twice, the last time being the 30th anniversary, and just after the sad passing of the legendary Don Ho. Both times were, at the risk of allowing my cynical mask slip, magical.
The May Day show is great fun, and follows the format of an old time variety show -- there is an aura of glamour interspersed with a decidedly camp sensibility, with hula stars of past and present gracing the stage. Spirits are high, and the banter among the performers is priceless; at times it feels as though you've wandered into a family reunion, and are a long lost cousin -- instantly at home and enveloped in the warmth. It's a time to celebrate the spirit and culture that truly do make the islands such a special place.
There's a song that plays before the Sunset On The Beach movies in Waikiki, "I Left My Heart In Honolulu", a hopelessly cheesy song that, at the time, I scoffed at. All I could see were the problems, the inadequacies, the flaws, I could imagine leaving my heart anywhere in the islands except Honolulu. Seven months later, it appears that I may have done just that. To all of my Hawaiian hanai ohana, a hui ho...
Update: per a dear friend and tipster in HNL, there will be no May Day celebration this year from the Bros. Not that we have any pull here, but we do hope that you'll be back next year. If this is the end of the May Day tradition, it is a sad day indeed.
The May Day show is great fun, and follows the format of an old time variety show -- there is an aura of glamour interspersed with a decidedly camp sensibility, with hula stars of past and present gracing the stage. Spirits are high, and the banter among the performers is priceless; at times it feels as though you've wandered into a family reunion, and are a long lost cousin -- instantly at home and enveloped in the warmth. It's a time to celebrate the spirit and culture that truly do make the islands such a special place.
There's a song that plays before the Sunset On The Beach movies in Waikiki, "I Left My Heart In Honolulu", a hopelessly cheesy song that, at the time, I scoffed at. All I could see were the problems, the inadequacies, the flaws, I could imagine leaving my heart anywhere in the islands except Honolulu. Seven months later, it appears that I may have done just that. To all of my Hawaiian hanai ohana, a hui ho...
Update: per a dear friend and tipster in HNL, there will be no May Day celebration this year from the Bros. Not that we have any pull here, but we do hope that you'll be back next year. If this is the end of the May Day tradition, it is a sad day indeed.
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