Gifts of aloha a big hit in Pennsylvania
| • | Waipi'o All-Stars home after road trip of lifetime |
| • | Read greetings from readers who sent best wishes and "i mua" to the Waipi'o Little League baseball team |
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Waipi'o Little League All-Stars and family members took more than a competitive spirit to the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa.
They also brought some aloha and gave competing teams lei and other gifts that were seen nationally on ESPN.
It's a longstanding tradition in Little League regional and World Series tournaments for teams to exchange regional gifts, but the uniqueness of the Hawai'i team's omiyage of orchid lei, macadamia nuts, fortune cookies and other local favorites caught the eye of ESPN television announcers and camera operators. During one post-game interview, the media asked a Hawai'i player to explain some of the items.
Alice Macanas, whose son, Dominic, played outfield on the Waipi'o World Series team, said the 20 or so parents who went to Pennsylvania took with them about 60 orchid lei, 100 shell lei and care packages of macadamia nuts, fortune cookies and "Live Aloha" bumper stickers, along with the traditional team pins.
In exchange, the other teams gave Hawai'i players T-shirts, state flags and their team pins.
"Del Monte offered us pineapples to take up there, but the parents decided it would have been too heavy to carry around," Macanas said. "Since we only had a day to buy the gifts, we did the best we could."
Susan Jones, who watched from the stands as her son, Travis, hit two game-winning home runs in the World Series, said teams that played Hawai'i teams in previous tournaments knew of the Islands' speciality when it came to omiyage.
"The moment our team arrived there, some of the other teams were knocking on our doors, wanting to exchange pins and gifts," Jones said. "The other teams who haven't played against Hawai'i before were surprised at some of our stuff, because they weren't aware about our gift-giving tradition down here.
"Aside from watching your child play, the chance to mingle with the other team's parents and players is what makes the event so good."
Jones said the funniest moment came after the Waipi'o team's final game Monday when the players threw their remaining gifts of shell lei and macadamia nuts to the crowd.
"People were running all over the place trying to grab it," she said. "The stadium ushers were cool about it, but they joked that we nearly caused a riot."
