Family fun on the cheap

• Places to entertain your keiki (and you, too) for free on O'ahu

By Chris Oliver
Advertiser Staff Writer

Brittney Kam, left, 12, practices her yo-yo tricks with other kids at Windward Mall Saturday nights as members of the Yo-Cool Spinners club. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser Yo-yo Mania 7 to 9 p.m. Saturdays. Windward Mall. Free. 235-1143. Keiki Tuesday 10:30 a.m. to noon Tuesdays. Pearlridge Center. Free. 488-0981. Auntie Pua's Keiki Kanikapila 11 a.m. to noon Saturdays. Native Books & Beautiful Things, Ward Warehouse. Free. 596-8885. 'Ewa Railway 12:30, 2:30 p.m. Sundays. 91-1001 Renton Road, 'Ewa. Adults, $8; children 2-12 and seniors, $5; children under 2 ride free (but must be held). 681-5461.

Many families don't realize it, but there are numerous free and cheap activities around town specifically targeting children, and many of these activities are highly educational and/or well-organized. Every week, many are listed in the Family Calendar in the 'Ohana section.

With an eye on the summer season fast closing in, the 'Ohana section has taken a closer look at some of the family "freebies" and "cheapies" around town that are available regularly.

To help you in your search for constructive things for your young kids to do and see, here's a sample of activities targeting children from toddlers to 10 years old.

Yo-yo Mania

Next time you're out looking for UFOs on a Saturday evening, drop by Windward Mall in Kane'ohe. You'll find not only UFOs but rockets, elevators, sleepers, creepers and dog bites — just a few of the way-cool yo-yo tricks being tossed around at the Yo-Cool Spinners club, held Saturdays in the center of the mall.

Every week, 50 to 200 young enthusiasts show up to get the hang of the up-and-down action, and to master the fancier moves, such as Loop the Loop, Brain Twister or Dog Around the Block. And the loud music helps, really.

"It took about two weeks to get the hang of throwing, with lots of practice at first," said 12-year-old Brittney Kam, who comes every week and recently mastered the difficult "Man on a Flying Trapeze" move.

"It's really fun," she said.

Spinners organizer Steven Fukuda started the club two years ago. "The kids teach each other, which helps develop their self-confidence," Fukuda said. "We now have some outstanding yo-yo players."

And enough enthusiasm, it seems, to support three islandwide yo-yo contests a year.

"We all grew up with yo-yos," Fukuda said. "So kids will all have one somewhere at home, in some drawer. But who takes the time to teach kids how to do tricks any more?"

The Yo-Cool Spinners club is run by Fukuda and a half-dozen volunteer parents.

Fukuda says it's a community service. "We get a lot of positive feedback. It helps the kids and, best of all, it's not video games," he said.

No skill is necessary to start. Just come along and join in. Bring your own yo-yo or buy one from a nearby store in the mall.

Keiki Tuesdays

At Pearlridge Center last week, the air was thick with the rustle of felt-tip markers, construction paper, glue sticks and plastic eggs. From within Uptown Centercourt, encircled by strollers like a mini wagon train came the steady hum of small-kid creativity.

In the middle of the action, Lurline Kawainui issued directions over a microphone on how to make Easter baskets to more than 100 preschoolers, accompanied by moms, aunties, tutus and a sprinkling of dads.

Keiki Tuesday, one of Pearlridge's most popular events, has been a fixture for the last 18 months. "We can usually bet on anywhere from 150 to 200 preschoolers for any Keiki Tuesday event," said Kawainui, Pearlridge promotions manager. "The center sponsors the events, and merchants will often donate supplies."

Keiki Tuesday offers small kids and moms different activities each week: arts and crafts, face painting, magic shows, stage entertainers, clowns and sing-alongs. Events rotate monthly between Uptown and Downtown.

Auntie Pua's Keiki Kanikapila

One of Auntie Pua's favorite stories is "Willie's Wallabies," by Suzanne Kita (Island Heritage, $10.95). The tale of a young boy and the wallabies that escaped from a private zoo in Kalihi has widened the eyes of many a youngster, says Auntie Pua. But none more than a 9-year-old Kalihi boy to whom Auntie Pua related the tale, based on real events, one Saturday morning. "He also was from Kalihi," recalled Auntie, "and the same age as Willie. I could see this story left a deep impression."

Puanani Higgins, a retired music resource teacher, storyteller and entertainer, sings Island favorites and tells stories (including those you won't find in books) to keiki at Native Books & Beautiful Things every Saturday, 11 a.m. to noon, and other times as requested.

Bicycle days

Here is a fun thing to do with children of all ages: Take the family on a bike ride on the levee behind Kailua.

Buttressing the edge of Kawainui Marsh, just a few yards from Kailua Road, the 8-foot-high earthwork was built to protect residents from the kind of flooding that occurred on New Year's Eve, 1987. Here, you can escape into a different world, where bird song drowns the noise of distant traffic, and wetland grasses and reeds quiver from hidden marsh residents. Against the backdrop of Olomana and the Ko'olau Mountains, the vast wetland area of Kawainui Marsh stretches far into the distance.

Among the many species of wildlife inhabiting this ecosystem, the Hawaiian moorhens, mallard ducks and turtles are easily seen from the levee, a flat mile-long track for little people to ride along.

(Kawainui means "big water." To learn more about the marsh and what to look for on your ride, check out Lanikai Elementary School's Web site at www2.lanikai.k12.hi.us).

'Ewa Railway

There's something about kids and trains (and grownups and trains, actually) that make this old-style railway trip across the 'Ewa Plain to Kahe Point a wonderful day out for the whole family. Operated by the Hawaiian Railway Society, a 90-minute-long round trip at a lickety-split speed of 15 mph. Grownups may listen to the history of the railway from the time when 47 sugar plantations had private railway systems and railway signs were handwritten in Hawaiian. Kids get to enjoy a form of transport that's rare in Hawai'i. Sites of interest are pointed out along the way.

Passengers depart from 'Ewa station, Renton Road, on a first-come-first-served basis. The train leaves the station at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. On weekdays, the train is available for charter for groups of 30 or more.