Your Guide to the Perfect Weekend in Honolulu: December 15–21, 2021
Learn how to up your gingerbread game, sing along with award-winning musicians and help a local play get produced.
Photo: Visionize Media
Josh Tatofi: Coming Together For The Holidays
Saturday, Dec. 18, 7 p.m.
Josh Tatofi has one of the smoothest voices in local music. We could listen to him sing anything—including how “onions don’t belong in mac salad,” as he crooned on Instagram. Prepare for this holiday concert by listening to his 2020 Christmas EP, A Jream Christmas, on Spotify, featuring his twists on favorites such as “Let It Snow” and “Blue Christmas.” (And did you know he owns a coffee truck at Ka Makana Ali‘i? Tofi’s Coffee & Grinds is open weekdays 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) Come early to catch special guest Justin Kawika Young, who will be flying home for this concert between shows with Anuhea in Denver and Las Vegas. We like sitting on the lawn, where it’s cheaper, you can spread out a blanket (no chairs allowed) and let the kids run or dance a bit.
$39.50 and up, Waikīkī Shell, 2805 Monsarrat Ave., ticketmaster.com, @joshtatofimusic
Gingerbread Magic
Saturday, Dec. 18, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Building gingerbread houses in highly humid Hawai‘i often involves crying as the icing refuses to dry, then crying some more as our structures crumble and fall apart, just like our dreams of appearing on Holiday Wars or Holiday Baking Championship. That doesn’t have to be the case if you sign up for this course at the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Diamond Head. Chef Chad Nakamura will walk you through construction and décor, and supply you with half a dozen cookies to take home. Wear shoes and long pants, and whatever else might protect you from disasters.
$90, 4500 Diamond Head Road, to register call (808) 734-9211 or go to continuinged.kapiolani.hawaii.edu
SEE ALSO: 5 Family Tips for Making Your Gingerbread Houses Last in Hawai‘i
PlayBuilders of Hawai‘i Theater Co. Presents PlayFest 2021
Through Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022
Cheers to 10 years! The annual festival gives local playwrights a chance to debut new works as staged readings, and audiences get to give feedback, vote for their favorites and say, “I saw this before it got big.” One play will be chosen for development by theater company Quarter Acre, which will produce it in 2022. The festival is virtual again this year, so you can watch a new play online every week through Jan. 8 by supporting PlayBuilders on Patreon. Patreon relies on monthly subscriptions, so if you don’t want to be charged $5 every month, be sure to cancel after watching the plays. This week, catch Symphony in Manila by Michael Markrich and directed by Jeff Orig, inspired by the story of a Jewish concentration camp survivor who conducted a concert of Beethoven’s Eroica after World War II. See the full lineup at playbuilders.org.
$5, patreon.com/playbuilders808
Art in the Atrium at Nā Lama Kukui
Through Jan. 1, 2022
Escape the craziness of the big malls and head to the Nimitz design center, where its third exhibit pop-up showcases local artists working with mixed media and watercolors. Their works, as well as some from earlier exhibits, are also available for purchase at artboxhawaii.com (like this still life from Solomon Enos). See pieces by Janet Meinke-Lau, Lauren Roth, Donna Sommer, Dawn Yoshimura and more. While there, stop by stores like Sedona for gifts or Tiny Pyramid for dessert.
560 N. Nimitz Highway, nlkcenter.com, @nalamakukui
Photo: Courtesy of Blue Note Hawai‘i
KSSK Presents Paula Fuga: Home For The Holidays
Friday, Dec. 17, and Saturday, Dec. 18, shows at 6:30 and 9 p.m.
Look forward to some holiday classics from local favorite Paula Fuga, who’s taken the holiday spirit to heart lately by partnering with Subaru Hawai‘i for its Love in Action campaign, highlighting the work of nonprofits close to her heart. (Watch the five-episode series here.) The 6:30 p.m. show at Blue Note on Saturday will be livestreamed for $20 for those who prefer to watch from home. Those who can make it in person on Friday night are in for a treat: Kimié Miner, whose Christmas in Hawai‘i album came out a few weeks ago, will also perform with Fuga.
Blue Note Hawai‘i, 2335 Kalākaua Ave., bluenotehawaii.com, @pfunklove
