Did you know that we offer free historical tours at Aloha Tower Marketplace? Since this area has so much historical significance in Hawaii’s history, we offer free tours to groups of four or more (with at least two weeks’ notice).

My cousin Kristi Atalig returned to the Marketplace recently, with a group of kids from Beijing on an exchange program. We did the tour in English, but they did have a translator on hand in case we used words that were too difficult. Art Visaya, one of our senior Ambassadors of Aloha, told them about the tower’s history since being built in 1926. He walked them through Irwin Park, and showed them the remains of the Russian fort for which Fort Street is named. The history of Boat Days in Honolulu Harbor came to life as he showed them the murals in Piers 10 and 11, in which every person depicted played a significant role in the building or the area’s colorful lore.

Afterward, we took the kids to the Pier 8 area, which is near the Falls of Clyde.  There, we have gumball machines filled with fish food. The water in the Harbor is so clear, you can see all the fish that come to feed! Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you might see an octopus or even a shark.

Kristi and her group claimed that our feeding area is better than Hanauma Bay! Is it true you can no longer feed the fish there?  If so…well, come on down! I’ve tried feeding the fish on weekends, and it’s quite therapeutic.

It’s always best to do these tours on nice days, since you can go to the top of the tower (FREE, open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and get panoramic views of Downtown Honolulu and our harbor. The only drawback to that, of course, is that it gets hot, so Kristi came up with a good solution.

A couple days later, the Pacific Century Fellows came by to do a historical tour, as well. This time, Alex customized the tour since these were all local working professionals. That’s the neat thing about these tours–we’ve had preschool kids all the way up to senior citizens on vacation, and we try to make it as interesting as possible for every group.

Best of all, it’s FREE! What can you get for free nowadays, in this economy? If you’re interested, shoot us an email at info@alohatower.com.  Hope to see you soon!

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Just a shout out to all my mainland relatives in town this weekend, especially Uncle Ron (who reads my blog religiously). My Uncle Eddie turns 100, so everyone is in town to celebrate with him. Oh, and Happy Birthday, Uncle Eddie!

My running buddy Val Ogi wanted to go to the Smashmouth concert at the Waterfront at the Tower venue on Saturday. Can you believe we had to go back and forth on whether to go, because I felt like such an old fart and wanted to go to sleep early? Here are some shots from Saturday night; if you were following me on Twitter, you already know how the night went.

OK now comes the best part:  Toward the end, Smashmouth’s lead singer Steve Harwell said, “I’m gonna go out into the audience and meet the fans!” So as the band played, he ran out and shook hands with people at the bar and said hi to others, then came right by us! I think people were too scared to approach him during the song, like Val here, but I shoved her into the photo anyway.  Buya!

It was another long day for the crew at Aloha Tower Marketplace.  Jennifer and I went to KHNL News 8 to do a segment with Kristine Uyeno….and had to be there by 5 a.m! Good thing we got there a little early; Kristine needed some wardrobe tape and Crystal Pancipanci, ever the good stylist, had some with her.  (Flack tip to newbies: Make sure you know exactly where KHNL’s news studio is and how to get there in the dark.)

Chris Hughes from KQMQ (a.k.a. 93.1 The Zone) showed up and was telling me all about his work out at the Hawaii Athletic Club earlier that day. He could barely raise his arms above shoulder height!

Then Christa, our sales guru from KQMQ, came by and asked Chris how his day was.  I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to post this photo from Angela Elbern.

Many of you were yelling at me offline about getting some photos up.  I gotta be honest, I was working backstage so I didn’t really get a chance to take many good photos!  A lot of you were following me on Twitter, though, so you know what went on, blow by blow as it happened.  Here are some highlights, courtesy of Christa Wittmier:

Overall, it was a nice event and we had a lot of really nice people! I even saw my classmates, Melba Balicanta and Junedale Nakachi (sorry ladies, I don’t know your married names) who happened to come by to check it out and shop.  Big thanks to Cindy Chang of CMC Medi-Spa for bringing the aromatherapy samples–I needed that!

See you all at the next First Fashion Friday!

p.s. Big Mahalo to Jennifer Lieu (at right) who put the event together! Welcome to the wacky world of divas!

p.p.s. Are any of you on Twitter?  Follow me! I’m @Melissa808

We’ve been working like mad on this annual event series at the Marketplace called First Fashion Friday. And today….is the day!

We’re going to get fall fashion tips from Alyson Helwagen of Leichic.com and stylist Crystal Pancipanci. When they asked us what to say, I told them, “Basically, the people that come really just want to know how to dress.” Heck, I sure need someone to dress me!

 I don’t know what they will actually talk about tonight, but I can tell you one thing we learned through this process as we ran around the mall trying to coordinate the event: The big thing this season is GOLD. Makes sense, right? It IS an Olympic year; why not celebrate it through your wardrobe as you wish your favorite athletes well?

Some people will opt to use really bold pieces in their outfits, like the chunky Juicy Couture bangle from Precious shown here.  One of the more popular ways to wear gold, though, has been in the clothes themselves, like the delicate design & embellishments on this dress from Island Style Attitudes. (Believe it or not, this is a dress from Paris Hilton.)

I suspect most Hawaii people will express the gold fever through accessories, though, kind of a discreet, “I’ve-got-a-secret” fashion statement that they can get away with at work.  A little gold clutch from Precious adds an element of surprise when you’re away from your desk, you know?  Even the gold disco belt from Nicky Shoes is something that can be worn with more muted outfits.

I’m also seeing more of my co-workers with classic work clothes, but wearing gold shoes & slippers, like the one here from Nicky. I will admit that when I first saw it on the shelves, I thought it was way too dressy for daytime, but when I saw it on the ladies in accounting, it was really a very subtle statement.

My favorite, though, is this Nixon watch from Pipe Dreams. It’s a perfect piece for day or evening, and can be either a bold or subtle statement (depending on who is wearing it). We tried it on various people–short, tall, large and petite–and it seemed to match all styles and tastes.

One last thing to take it over the top: Express your gold digger attitude with nail designs. (Yes, yes, you’re doing a double take now and thinking that my pun was intended.  It was.) The Honolulu Nail Bar can add creative designs to your manicure or pedicure to get you in an Olympic mood. I’m guessing these are designs worthy of the late Florence Griffith-Joyner, if she were still running around that track.

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Just a side note, since we are talking about gold: did you know that the Wedding Ring Shop is having a promotion where they’ll buy back your old/scrap gold, silver, and platinum? One of my friends told me about it because she didn’t know what to do with all the jewelry she had amassed from ex-BFs. She was surprised that she got a lot of money for her stuff….and now has enough to go to Las Vegas, including hotel. I’m headed there after this!

OK, I’m pushing Kristi’s tour photos back one more time to tell you about our live broadcast with Jai Cunningham of KHON this morning. We’re promoting First Fashion Friday at Aloha Tower Marketplace happening this week, and there are a lot of elements to show on camera.

Manolo is on vacation, so Jai has been filling in for him on the live spots. This was my first time working with Jai, and it was really interesting. Did you know that he’s originally from Alabama and went to an all-boys’ boarding school with a strict dress code? That’s partly why he is so spiffily dressed on camera all the time….not just for the visual, but because that’s what he is used to. OK, that’s not ALL we learned about Jai, but that was pretty good trivia.  If you haven’t worked with him yet, he’s very easygoing and easy to work with!

Our first shot at 6:30 was promoting the fitness aspect of First Fashion Friday. As mentioned previously, we are offering a free fitness makeover: just listen to KQMQ this week for details or send an email with a photo to info@alohatower.com and tell us why you deserve to win. Chris Hughes, one of the DJs at the station, came to talk about his fitness goals and pump the makeover contest.

As you can see, Chris is interested in bulking up and gaining more muscle definition, especially developing his upper body strength. Jai turned to me and said, “And Melissa, you…..er, are probably like most of us….” And I said, “Yes! I need to lose weight.” My boss Scott texted me immediately to say, “So what’s Jai trying to tell you?”  ha ha!

The rest of the segments focused on celebrity stylist Crystal Pancipanci, who will be one of our fashion panelists on Friday, giving us a preview of fall trends. She’s worked with the Baraquio sisters, Rachel Ray, and Valerie Bertinelli, as well as many local celebs.  Last year she gave KQMQ jocks Chanel Mokepuha and Devon Nekoba a makeover (after which I stole all of Chanel’s clothes for myself). Today she worked with Miss Aloha Tower Kaili Hussey and Miss Teen Aloha Tower Steisha Sheather, and not only talked about trends for fall but how to effectively put trendy outfits together.  Heck, I learned three things just standing there listening her think out loud and she didn’t even realize it!

I’d tell you more about what I learned from Crystal with regard to dressing myself, but you need to hear it on your own!  Just come to our free event on Friday, August 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. Crystal, along with Alyson Helwagen of LeiChic.com, will talk about tips and trends for fall.

Ah, but this is a “flack like me” entry, isn’t it?  Here are some tips from today’s live broadcast:

1.  If you’re doing a broadcast anywhere in the harbor, you need to get the necessary permission to access the area(s) ahead of time.

2.  It helps to draw a map so you can communicate to the cameraman (George Cabral!) exactly where the Live Van should park.

3.  Be prepared to be on camera, in case people don’t show up.  Today I brought a change of clothes in case people didn’t show up for the Fitness Segment, and was ready to improvise for fitness moves.

4.  As always, bring extra props.  I lugged two sets of dumbells up to the second floor while wearing heels! But they were necessary props so we could demonstrate some simple moves on camera. I picked the nicest looking dumbells so they’d pick up the light. I think we also had a couple of extra outfits as backup, in case we ended up with an extra segment to talk…and we did.

See you on Friday!

p.s. big mahalo to Jennifer Lieu, who was running around with the camera and getting all the clothes set up just right. And for getting George some coffee.  And for shushing housekeeping as only a Pushy Chinese Broad can do!