Family Scene
Wild vision brings swing to zoo's summers

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer

Illustration by Jon Orque • The Honolulu Advertiser

The latter was just one of the problems facing the Honolulu Zoo in 1986 when local promoter and 30-year 'ukulele Äber-instructor Roy Sakuma entered a bid to take over one of the park's few bright spots, a Wednesday evening family-fest called The Wildest Show In Town.

"I found out later that I was the only one who applied," Sakuma says, laughing.

The Wildest Show In Town was launched in the late '70s by Steve Cujyet, former city and county parks and recreation specialist, who figured a mid-week kid-friendly sunset show on the zoo's main lawn would be a guaranteed family draw. Thanks in part to its "can't-miss" free admission, The Wildest Show became a modest success, attracting audiences of about 200 (on a good night) to the summer-long series of children's acts and choirs. Sakuma bid for the show when Cujyet left for a post with the San Diego Zoo.

"At the time, the Honolulu Zoo was getting a lot of negative publicity," Sakuma says of then-headline stories about sick animals, poor facilities and troubled management. "I wanted to do something to change the public's image of the zoo and saw the show as a great way to do it. The idea was to draw people in to see firsthand how zoo personnel were trying to upgrade the facilities."

Sakuma had a different vision for the summer series: a move from keiki acts to the kind of local music performers who would please parents as well as children, and maybe pull in folks who just wanted to enjoy some pau hana jams and a dinner bento in the middle of the work week.

Though he already had a solid reputation in local entertainment promotions among musicians, Sakuma found selling even industry friends on his idea slightly less than a walk in the, um, zoo.

"The musicians would say, 'What are we gonna do, play for the animals?' " remembers Sakuma, laughing hard.

With a handshake guarantee of an audience, Sakuma managed to pull together a musical slate that included Kapena, Moe Keale and Melveen Leed, and a handful of local businesses to chip in with sponsorships. No one was more surprised than Sakuma when the summer 1987 series of 13 shows pulled in an average of 1,000 attendees ... each.

When Sakuma continued with his second Wildest Show series the following summer, he found little or no trouble securing musicians or sponsorship. AT&T has underwritten the cost of each summer's concert series since 1988.

Local music acts that have played The Wildest Show stage include The Brothers Cazimero, Pure Heart, Robi Kahakalau and Jimmy Borges. This year's lineup includes Colon, 'Ale'a, Ten Feet and series stalwarts Ka'au Crater Boys.

The concerts — each now attracts 2,000 to 4,000 people — remain free, with donations collected going to the Honolulu Zoo. Audience giveaways (this summer, it's 'ukulele) and guided night tours of the zoo, keiki activities and games are a part of every concert. Sakuma himself is the master of ceremonies.

"I'm happy that we've succeeded, in our own small way, in creating this really positive image of the Honolulu Zoo, because that was really important to me," Sakuma says.