Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 5, 1 May 2002 — 'The Caz' mark silver Lei Day: what's next? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

'The Caz' mark silver Lei Day: what's next?

By Manu Boyd Some things never change, Scores of dancers, musicians, surprise guests; the hula artistry of 'Ala (Leinā'ala Kalama Heine); boxes of lei of pua kenikeni, 'ilima and ginger hand-delivered from the Windward side; and an excited duo of Robert and Roland Cazimero handling final details, getting a relax~ ing lomilomi and charging for the 7:30 curtain eall: a party with 8,000 friends, Twenty~five years of packed audiences - that's nearly 200,000 tickets soldi What does it take to produce the legendary Lei Day extravaganza? "A eouple of aspirin," says The Mountain Apple Company guru Jon de Mello, "and a lot of courage, Sometim.es, as artists, we're afraid that what we put forth may not be equal to or better than what we did before, We hate to be stagnant, We want to find a new approach with fresh ideas.

Sometimes at the concert, ī'm behind the scenes at the light board, and I find myself watching everything very carefully and designing for the following year.

"Putting the concert together starts right after Christmas, Robert, Roland and I talk out loud, and things just start falling into plaee, Sometim.es it comes together a week before, Luckily, we have no shortage of great music," Robert, the bass and piano-half of the duo who directs everything on stage, says that this has been the easiest year yet, "We're doing a lot of fun things - favorites of ours over the years that we think people will enjoy," he said, And, as the saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," the mix will include dancers from Robert's Hālau Nā Kamalei, 'Ala's Nā Pualei O Likolehua, guest artists galore and magic that only the Caz ean create, ,And what of next year? "We're not thinking of the 26th, We're starting all over again, fresh, with number one: uMay Day is Lei Day in Hawai'i, garlands of flowers everywhere. All of the colors in the rainbow, maidens with blossoms in their hair ■

Hanana Kūikawā

Rolcincl K.anoeokeileini einel Robert Uluwehi Ccizirnero