IT WAS a dark and spooky night when Catherine Cruz took some 40 friends, including Denby Fawcett and her husband, Bob Jones, on a pre-Halloween tour of Oahu Cemetery Oct. 27, led by cemetery historian Nanette Napoleon. At some graves, actors played the parts of the dead or their killers. Denby said that when she was growing up, one of her best friends lived near the cemetery. When they were about 12, they used to hang out there, checking out graves and pondering about the dead people, especially young ones their age. "Our other cherished cemetery activity was stealing red carnation leis off the graves," she said. "In the 1950s, there was no better lei than a double red carnation. We would wear the leis to school, enjoying the jealousy and admiration of our friends who assumed the leis were given to us by our boyfriends, of which at the time, we had none." Fast-forward: "Anyway, on the tour, we walked through the graves with our flashlights. Our third stop was the grave of James McKee, an early sea captain. On McKee’s large black gravestone was a red carnation lei. Then Nanette said, ‘Long ago, some Punahou students used to swipe leis off graves here to wear to school. One such Punahou thief is on our cemetery tour. Does she dare announce herself?’" Nanette revealed Denby’s name, picked the lei off McKee’s grave and gave it to her with a hug and a kiss. "Turns out, Catherine had bought the lei in Chinatown to play the joke on me," Denby said. …
A RESTAURANT designed to take people to the heights will open underground at Ala Moana Center Dec. 10. Vintage Cave, beneath Shirokiya, is built with custom bricks, filled with art and upscale furnishings and has chandeliers of Swarovski crystal. The general manager is Charly Yoshida, who opened Stage in the Honolulu Design Center and was formerly with Alan Wong. The chef is Chris Kajioka, who has impressive credentials. Chris has been with Thomas Keller‘s Per Se in New York, The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton and Aziza, both in San Francisco, and Roy’s Waikiki. A set dinner menu is priced at $295 per. There is a dress code. High tea will be from noon to 3 p.m. …
NEIMAN MARCUS’ Christmas Book is out and the Fantasy Gifts section is a big draw. The dinner special is fantastic. Four of the top chefs in the world — Keller, Daniel Boulud, Richard Rosendale and Jerome Bocuse — will come to your home and prepare a feast for 10 people. The cost is a tidy $250,000. Another gift that a friend of mine, who goes back to our boyhood days, would drool over is the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Woody-Tailgate Trailer, for $150,000. It boasts leather furniture, classy glassware, a top-of-the-line entertainment system and also comes loaded with booze. Hook it up to your vehicle, drive to your destination, open the hatch and slide out the bar. Get a designated driver. …
WORLD-RENOWNED hair stylist Paul Brown, founder of Paul Brown Salons & Spas, gave China-born Yue-Sai Kan and Diana Xu, Miss Universe China 2012, VIP treatment before the Hawaii International Film Festival’s China Night Gala at the Halekulani last month. Xu was pampered and given a new haircut and style from Brown at his Ward Centre salon. Brownstyled Kan at her hotel suite and later accompanied her to the gala, where she was honored with the HIFF Lifetime Achievement Award. Kan, 63, is an Emmy-winning, Chinese-American television host and producer, and is also a graduate of Brigham Young University-Hawaii. Kan also directs the Miss Universe China pageant. During the gala there was a fashion show with models led by Xu. …
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Ben Wood, who sold newspapers on Honolulu streets in World War II, writes of people, places and things. Email him at bwood@staradvertiser.com.
