"Waikiki by Moonlight — Hana Hou!" a one-night festival this evening, will celebrate the music, the crafts, the culture and the food of Hawai'i. The street party, now in its second year, has a reflective flavor, with the glow of moonlight adding to the atmosphere and spirit.

The event, produced by the Waikiki Improvement Association, will mean street closures on Kalakaua Avenue, between Lewers Street and Seaside Avenue, fronting the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. Makai lane closures start at 2:30 p.m., with full shutdown at 5:30 p.m., turning over the designated street area to foot traffic and participating musicians, artisans and vendors.

"Last year's event drew approximately 9,000 people, and this year's event should be even more popular due to the stellar entertainment lineup," Rick Egged, president the Waikiki Improvement Association, said in a statement. The intent, he said, is to stage a mini-fest with appeal to locals and visitors beneath the glow of a full moon, with Hawaiian music as a magnet.

And the program — gathering performers from the golden era of Hawaiian music right up to the present — will provide a stroll down memory lane. The performers will revisit the 1950s and '60s era, when Hawaiian songs rippled well beyond the reef, sparked a renaissance of Hawaiian music roots among the younger generation in the 1970s, evolved into a hybrid of reggae ingredients in the 1990s and triggered break-out artistry of the solo 'ukulele in the 2000s.

Add hula performances by kumu hula Sonny Ching and his Halau Na Mamo O Pu'uanahulu, and the singing talent of Mayor Mufi Hannemann in a tribute to beloved entertainer Don Ho, and you're talking a panorama of iconic Island dances and sounds.

PALI PERFORMS

Pali, a contemporary Hawaiian music group, perhaps best represents the spirit of "Waikiki by Moonlight." Led by Pali Ka'aihue, the band has distinguished itself as a prime player on the music scene and earned accolades with the release of its "Pali Presents a Tribute" CD, an homage to groundbreaking Island groups from the past four decades, earlier this year.

"My roots are in rock," said Ka'aihue, 34, Pali group leader. "I was a guitar player, into acts like Van Halen. But then I got a job at the House of Music (a longtime resource for recordings, sheet music and other industry needs, now defunct), learned my chops from Lydia Ludin and Lea Uehara (veteran historians in the shop) and I had to hear all this stuff, know these songs that were coming out, and the one that nailed it for me was 'Wahine 'Ilikea,' by the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau, from the 'Live at Hank's Place' album. When I heard it, it sunk in for me. I turned to Sunday Manoa, I listened to Gabby Pahinui stuff, and the Waimanalo Music Festival (a mythical concert album) was just awesome."

It was his moment of reckoning, though growing up, Ka'aihue was initially exposed to the renaissance artists through his family. "I heard the music through my uncles, my aunts and my dad's stereo," he said. "I just listened ... but the biggest education came when I joined House of Music."

Those were the days, said Ka'aihue, when musicians composed and performed songs that mattered, that made a difference, that lodged in the mindset of budding wannabe troupers like himself.

"Songwriting back then was powerful — as a composer later on, I strive to achieve that level, to get the pureness of the composition," he said. "All the artists used to come to the store. I had to learn (the music) to earn the respect."

Ka'aihue is president and owner of LavaNet, the Internet access and service company, and he admits that his work with Pali is a good release for his daytime stress.

"I have three guitars in three different rooms at the office," said Ka'aihue. "We have music piped in throughout the door. If I get inspired, I pick up the guitar and play a little; if I'm ready for a flight and I feel a song coming on, I will get my guitar and put my cell phone in video (mode) to play the melody, so I don't forget it. Or I'll sing lyrics to my voice mail."

DANNY COUCH SINGS

Danny Couch, one-time member of The Aliis, will appear in the "Moonlight" serenade, opening with his 1980 hit, "Lady You're My Rainbow," and closing the segment with "These Islands," his 1997 signature tune that has been widely used by the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau to promote the Islands.

"It's a great honor to perform these songs," said Couch, who recently returned to the Waikiki landscape, performing Mondays and Wednesdays at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani hotel's 'Ainahau Showroom. "I've been doing these songs in my shows — the first time I've produced my own shows — and it's wonderful to bookend the 'Moonlight' event."

Thus, his participation reflects both his "then" and "now" status as a Waikiki headliner.

WHAT'S NEW

Justin Kawika Young, 28, is sort of the new kid on the block in the "Moonlight" roster.

A Kailuan, Young has a 10-year history on the local music scene, but moved to Los Angeles six years ago to find a place in the Mainland marketplace.

"I'm glad I made the move; it's been beneficial for me, creatively speaking. If I were only focusing on Island music, and there's an audience for it, Hawai'i would be fine," he said. "But because I want to expand and do other stuff, the L.A. scene offers more opportunity. It may not be the best for the singer-songwriter genre (his area of specialty), but there are venues where you can see and hear quality music night after night — something that you don't have in Hawai'i."

He's home specifically for "Moonlight," but he's prepping to launch "All Attached," his new album of self-composed acoustic ditties, due for July release.

"I'll be doing some older stuff, like my 'Crazy Love' and 'One Foot on Sand,' " he said of his role in "Moonlight." "It's a nostalgic throwback — so I get to perform with Randy Lorenzo, Ernie Cruz Jr. and Kata Maduli," he said of some of the other participants.

THERE'S MORE

Others in the limelight: