2008 Woodie Awards
Tropical shirts fill Activity Center as Luau kicks off for fifth year in a row
Judith Mikes
Issue date: 2/24/06 Section: Diversions
- Page 1 of 2 next >
The Hawaii Club of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University hosted their tenth Luau on Saturday, Feb. 25. The annual event, held in the Activity Center, highlighted the rich culture and diverse foods of the islands, as well as their Pacific neighbors.
The doors opened officially at 6:00 p.m., but long lines of people clad in tropical prints and festive shirts had already formed, with some people waiting twenty minutes or more just to enter the building. "I'd say about 470 people showed up," said Isaac Kama, one of the three student dance instructors, "not including the 30 Hawaiian club people who were helping out."
Once inside, the mood was festive and relaxed, with Hawaiian music playing in the background, fresh tropical flowers and cube-cut pineapples on every table, and lei-wearing greeters punching tickets with a smile. "That's pretty rare, that we get a lot of donations. The Kailua pig was donated, and all the decorations were donated," said Eli Hedani, president of the Hawaii club.
The dinner part of the evening began as soon as the doors opened, with most people staking out a seat at a table and then joining the ever-growing line that eventually wound around three walls of the building before arriving at the serving tables. Although the students dishing up the food were moving with automaton precision under the watchful eye of Dr. Gally, the club's faculty advisor, the high demand for the aromatic comestibles left them scrambling to keep up. "We weren't expecting that many people; once the line started forming it was surprising to see the whole activity center filled. That was a sight," said Gary Garo, who provided the desserts.
The long lines proved the main point of contention for non-student participants.
"I came to eat dinner, but after waiting half an hour I gave up and left," said a professor from the College of Engineering. "I thought the line was offensively long, and I was not going to stand an hour for a single grain of rice," said a College of Arts and Sciences professor. Those people who chose to wait, however, were rewarded with a tray piled high with Kailua pig, noodles, rice, chicken, pineapple, and lomi lomi salmon. Also available were individual portions of coconut custard pie, banana bread, and -for the brave of heart-one-finger poi. Of the latter, Dr. Jaffe, COE professor, repeats the old joke: "Some people like it, some people don't -one man's meat is another man's poi….son."
The doors opened officially at 6:00 p.m., but long lines of people clad in tropical prints and festive shirts had already formed, with some people waiting twenty minutes or more just to enter the building. "I'd say about 470 people showed up," said Isaac Kama, one of the three student dance instructors, "not including the 30 Hawaiian club people who were helping out."
Once inside, the mood was festive and relaxed, with Hawaiian music playing in the background, fresh tropical flowers and cube-cut pineapples on every table, and lei-wearing greeters punching tickets with a smile. "That's pretty rare, that we get a lot of donations. The Kailua pig was donated, and all the decorations were donated," said Eli Hedani, president of the Hawaii club.
The dinner part of the evening began as soon as the doors opened, with most people staking out a seat at a table and then joining the ever-growing line that eventually wound around three walls of the building before arriving at the serving tables. Although the students dishing up the food were moving with automaton precision under the watchful eye of Dr. Gally, the club's faculty advisor, the high demand for the aromatic comestibles left them scrambling to keep up. "We weren't expecting that many people; once the line started forming it was surprising to see the whole activity center filled. That was a sight," said Gary Garo, who provided the desserts.
The long lines proved the main point of contention for non-student participants.
"I came to eat dinner, but after waiting half an hour I gave up and left," said a professor from the College of Engineering. "I thought the line was offensively long, and I was not going to stand an hour for a single grain of rice," said a College of Arts and Sciences professor. Those people who chose to wait, however, were rewarded with a tray piled high with Kailua pig, noodles, rice, chicken, pineapple, and lomi lomi salmon. Also available were individual portions of coconut custard pie, banana bread, and -for the brave of heart-one-finger poi. Of the latter, Dr. Jaffe, COE professor, repeats the old joke: "Some people like it, some people don't -one man's meat is another man's poi….son."