FRIDAY-SUNDAY
>> Amazing Hawaii Comic Con will be a treat for Trekkies
Go boldly where no one has gone before, at least for this year, when the Amazing Hawaii Comic Con beams into town this weekend.
The three-day confab of all things sci-fi, comics, anime and cosplay will be a special treat for “Star Trek” fans, with William Shatner – the original Captain Kirk – leading a crew of actors from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” to the Hawai‘i Convention Center.
Shatner will make two appearances: as host of a panel discussion with actors Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden and Brent Spiner of “Next Generation” at 7:15 p.m. Saturday; and at a talk about his life and career at 3 p.m. Sunday.
AMAZING HAWAII COMIC CON 2017With special guest William Shatner
>> Where: Hawai‘i Convention Center
>> When: 3-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
>> Cost: $25-$35 per day; three-day pass $60, VIP packages $50-$200
>> Info: amazinghawaiicomiccon.com
“It’s going to be a wonderful couple of days of interaction, and I’m looking forward to meeting everybody,” Shatner said cheerily, in his sonorous voice, during a quick call from the mainland. (See more from Shatner in Friday’s Detours.)
Also appearing at the Amazing Hawaii Comic Con will be Todd McFarlane, creator of the popular “Spawn” series and an artist known for his work on the “Spider-Man” comics. He will appear Saturday at 3 p.m. to discuss his career.
The gathering features more than 100 artists, including “X-Men” writer Chris Claremont and Kevin Eastman, creator of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” as well as cosplay events, comic book and collector dealers.
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
>> Pretty Peacock cabaret takes a boozy ’20s trip to a neon tiki world
Light up your life with “Neon Dreams: Absinthe, A Black Light Cabaret,” the latest neon production from local cabaret troupe Pretty Peacock.
“NEON DREAMS: ABSINTHE, A BLACK LIGHT CABARET”Presented by Pretty Peacock
>> Where: Artistry Honolulu, 461 Cooke St.
>> When: 7 p.m. Saturday, 6 p.m. Sunday
>> Cost: $40
>> Info: prettypeacockproductions.com
“We wanted to marry two of our favorite themes in this show, the 1920s and tiki,” says Pretty Peacock director Lola Love. “We did research on things that cause you to hallucinate and realized absinthe would be the perfect way to fuse the two concepts into one show. During the ’20s portion of the show, we all drink absinthe, which transports us into a neon tiki world.”
The troupe, consisting of classically trained dancers, will be dancing in 1920s style and will feature black-light puppetry, a popular carryover from earlier “Neon Dreams” shows that Pretty Peacock staged in 2014 and 2015. Otherwise, this is an all-new show, created by Love and Foxy Knoxx, with colorful costumes by Rose Wolfe and featuring guest performers Miss Catwings, Serendipity Love, Vila, and Rose Wolfe.
The Aphrodisiacs are Lolita Le Muse, So Cray Ray Ray and Koko Kitty.
“The show is silly, sexy and out of this world combining dance, burlesque and cabaret,” Love says. “Every visual image is stunningly created in a neon palette of utter electricity.”
SATURDAY & SEPT. 2
>> Walking tours share history of Kakaako
Kakaako has changed so much in recent years that it’s difficult to remember what was once there. Adele Balderston is trying to refresh old memories and generate new ones with walking-tour service 88 Block Walks, which is giving dramatized tours this Saturday and Sept. 2. Kakaako arts group Interisland Terminal is also sponsoring the event.
88 BLOCK WALKS
>> Where: Tours start at 449 Cooke St.
>> When: 7:30 and 9 p.m. Saturday and Sept. 2
>> Cost: Free (tour size limited; registration recommended)
>> Info: 88blockwalks.com, interislandterminal.org
“I’m calling it a multimedia living history experience,” Balderston said. “It’s a walking tour, but I have actors in period costumes … telling stories about what the neighborhood was like during their period.”
In “Walk #5: The Living Archive,” actors represent residents from the 1920s, ’40s and ’60s.
Kakaako in recent decades has been known primarily as a light-industrial district, now undergoing major redevelopment into complexes of condominium projects. But from the 1920s until the 1940s, there was a sizable population in the mixed-use neighborhood, Balderston said. The community supported groups like a local barefoot football team (seen projected on the wall in the photo).
Housing was dismantled starting in the 1940s, and by the 1960s the neighborhood feel was gone. On Balderston’s tour, a character representing the 1960s reminisces about things “being good in the early 1940s, when he was a child, and by the 1950s there were just mass evictions and they were tearing down all the buildings,” she said.
Balderston said she hopes her project, incorporating research by University of Hawaii sociology students, will help restore the community’s legacy. “I’m trying to give people a more complete picture, and let people who are living in the area now or who have connections to the area take control of the story,” she said.
SUNDAY
>> Wacky creations take to waves at OceanFest
As the movie title says, “hope floats.” When it comes to the Red Bull Party Wave, one just hopes these things float.
RED BULL PARTY WAVEPart of Duke’s OceanFest 2017
>> Where: Queen’s Surf, Waikiki
>> When: 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sunday
>> Cost: Free
>> Info: dukesoceanfest.com
The event, part of Duke’s OceanFest, features surfing in its most amusing form, with surfboards and surf canoes decked out in fanciful designs. In previous years, they’ve taken on the shape of floating logs, flying airplanes and floating lavatories. Participating teams will dress up in costume, perform a skit then take to the waves. It’s half contest, half parade and all fun.
Although the surf contest is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., you’ll want to get a close-up look at the surfing crafts early. They’ll begin arriving at 8 a.m., and you can start laying odds on which ones will survive the surf. (Plenty don’t, but that’s part of the fun.) Awards will be based on overall presentation and will be announced at 3:30 p.m.
While you’re at OceanFest, take a walk over toward Diamond Head and catch some of the surfboard water polo tournament, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Kapahulu Breakwall, and the beach volleyball tournament, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Queen’s Sand Volleyball Courts.