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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, March 22, 2002

EDITORIAL
Popular beach events are worth the price

The $300,000-plus price tag on Honolulu's popular series of Sunset on the Beach and Brunch on the Beach events might come across as a tad extravagant.

But at the risk of sounding Pollyanna-ish, the city's campaign to bring open-air movies, live music, hula, al fresco dining and bazaars to certain gathering places on O'ahu has done wonders for community building.

Instead of the city picking up the entire tab, we'd like to see others pitch in, including food vendors and the Hawai'i Tourism Authority. After all, the HTA has been talking about community-based tourism programs. Well, here you have something relatively simple that's working, and it's a bargain compared to opening more Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau offices around the world.

Take Waikiki: For years, tourism officials have agonized over how to revitalize Hawai'i's No. 1 visitor destination without alienating those who live here. By most indications, Sunset on the Beach has given the Kalakaua Avenue strip that kind of boost.

It's fair to say that your average tourist hankers for a taste of what it feels like to be local. If they camp out on the beach with locals and watch, say, "Casablanca," or "Superman" on a big screen under the stars, with the waves washing against the sands, they're bound to feel they've shared an authentic Hawai'i experience, and will take that snapshot home with them.

As for locals who feel ne-glected by Hawai'i's ceaseless quest to cater to tourists' whims, these events draw them out into the community, where they can mingle with friends, neighbors and visitors rather than slumping in front of the TV.

Consider the Wai'anae Coast, not exactly a mecca for restaurants, movie theaters and other entertainment. Last weekend, more than 50,000 people attended the Sunset on the Beach debut at Ma'ili Beach Park and weren't disappointed.

Going forward, these popular, populist programs will have to face the iron test of budget realities: Is there a better way to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars even for purposes of community building and Waikiki revitalization?

But let's face it, Hawai'i was made for outdoor entertainment. In fact, we'd like to see more agencies — public or private — sponsor sunsets and brunches on the beach.

It's money well spent.