Posted on: Wednesday, August 11, 2004

OUR HONOLULU

By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

I'm back from attending a gala benefit reception at the Volcano Art Center. The Volcano Art Center is to the Big Island what the Academy of Arts is to Our Honolulu.

I wasn't sure what to wear.

A button-down aloha shirt passes muster at an Academy of Arts reception for a new exhibit. But this gala combined art exhibits with a theater opening night, which is generally formal, as well as a benefit for the Volcano Art Center. Now we're talking tuxedo and tables starting at $1,500.

I wanted to make the right impression. For one thing, a celebrity of the reception and author of the theater production, "You Somebody," would be Lee Cataluna, my colleague in the column business. What if she told everybody in the city room that Krauss doesn't know how to dress?

Furthermore, the other celebrity would be Keola Beamer, who wrote the music. That meant his mother, Nona, would be there. She would scold me if I brought shame to the Beamer Family.

When in doubt, I wear my uniform: white shoes and white pants. To split the difference between a coat and an aloha shirt, I wore a shirt with long sleeves and hoped for the best. Nobody gave me the stink eye. The price of tickets to the reception was also a pleasant surprise: $35, which included a front-row seat at the Kilauea Military Camp Theater.

Nobody asked me to buy a table because there weren't any. Everybody stood around on the lanai and munched on veggies, cookies and finger sandwiches. The Volcano Winery poured free samples while the setting sun slanted through the 'ohi'a trees. It was like an outdoor cathedral.

Here's what I learned about how to dress for social events on the Big Island. First, we will hear from fashion plate John Burnett, a newscaster for KPUA radio and a writer. He wore a knit polo shirt, shorts and shower sandals to the reception.

"We don't do formal here," he explained. "I thought about wearing an aloha shirt but it gets cold at the volcano and this shirt is warmer."

Roberta and Pete Muller from Hilo came in shoes. As a member of the Arts Center board, Roberta dressed in a pink, quilted jacket over a sweater and white slacks. She carried a white handbag and umbrella. Pete sported slacks and a button-down aloha shirt.

She said the deciding factor on what to wear at the volcano is the weather: "I'd wear shorts in the afternoon but in the evening it gets quite chilly."

Linda Ugade put the gala in perspective for me. She said it rates as a social event with the weekend farmer's market and the post office between 11 a.m. and noon on Saturdays when everybody comes to get their mail. However, the premier social event at the volcano is a twice-a-year benefit Mongolian barbecue for Cooper Community Center next to the volunteer fire station.

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073.