Lahaina gearing up for wild Halloween
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
LAHAINA, Maui — Bob and Mary Ellen Gallo of Cincinnati said they're not really Halloween freaks, but they do like a good time.
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After experiencing Halloween in Lahaina two years ago, the couple made sure to schedule their 10-day vacation this year around the event billed as the "Mardi Gras of the Pacific." The Gallos, who are also celebrating their 27th wedding anniversary, will be joining an expected throng of 35,000 Friday night on Front Street.
Officials in Lahaina expect a crowd exceeding the usual 15,000 to 20,000 for Halloween because the holiday falls on a Friday.
"It's just not the party at home that it is here," said Bob Gallo, who stopped by the Lahaina Visitor Center yesterday to pick up two official Lahaina Halloween T-shirts for $20 each.
With the holiday on a Friday night, officials predict a much larger crowd than the 15,000 to 20,000 who show up when Halloween is on a weeknight.
No matter on which day Halloween falls, hotels in Lahaina town are booked solid a year in advance. For many restaurants and bars, it's the biggest night of the year.
"It's pretty wild," said Shawny Labrador, restaurant manager at Blue Lagoon Tropical Bar & Grill in The Wharf Cinema Center, across the street from Banyan Tree Park, where most of the festivities will be taking place. "If you want to see something you have never seen before, you'll probably see it on Front Street. People get pretty creative."
Labrador said that while Halloween is a blockbuster night for the restaurant and bar, it can be "nerve-racking." Nearly the entire staff is called in to work, extra security is hired and cleanup is a pretty scary task. "This place gets trashed," she said.
Maui police will deploy 80 officers in a four- to five-block area to keep the peace, and a crew from the Fox TV show "COPS," which has been filming on the island in recent weeks, will be present to document any mayhem.
"Since it's on a weekend, people have a tendency to get a little nuts because they don't have to work the next day," said Capt. Charles Hirata.
He said police will be keeping a particularly close watch for underage drinkers and intoxicated drivers. Revelers will be encouraged to take taxis. No weapons, real or fake, will be allowed.
"We're expecting it to go pretty late, so we're going to be seriously making sure juveniles abide by the curfew law," Hirata said. "The maximum is midnight, so they'd better get home or they'll turn into a captive pumpkin."
Front Street from Baker to Prison streets will be closed to traffic from 3 p.m. until midnight. The closure will extend to Shaw Street during the keiki costume parade sponsored by the West Maui Soroptimist Club and Lahaina Rotary, which starts at 5 p.m.
Banyan Tree Park will be the site of the Halloween Arts Festival starting at 5 p.m., with entertainment, face painting, fortune telling and food booths. The Lahaina Arts Society's haunted house, "Little Ship of Horrors," in the Old Jail Gallery at the Old Lahaina Courthouse, will be open from 5 to 10 p.m. and is rated PG-13. Tickets are $5.
A $1,000 grand prize will be awarded during the Maui Tacos Halloween Costume Contest at Banyan Tree Park. Registration is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., with the winner announced at 10 p.m. There is a $20 entry fee. Several restaurants and bars are holding their own costume contests.
Reach Christie Wilson at (808) 244-4880 or cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.
