Festival of Lights Wishes Happy New Year

The crew at the Historic County Building on the last night of the 2017 Festival of Lights. Contributed photo

Since 1997, Elizabeth Freeman, an artist and a designer, has been meticulously putting together the Festival of Lights at the Historic County Building in Lihu‘e, an exhibition she says it helps to strengthen the island’s social fabric. It helps to create community pride and fosters a sense of individual and collective well-being.

The festival’s ongoing theme, “Santa’s Gone Kauaian,” reflects a decoration full of island flavor. There’s a Santa paddling a canoe, a Santa surfing, trees decorated with sea creatures, spam cans, tropical flowers, fish, birds and much more.

“When you walk into the County Building, my intention for the space is a transformative experience,” said Elizabeth, adding her goal is to have the people stop at each of the more than 30 Christmas trees, because “each tree is actually a universe,” each one has “an element of surprise.”

Almost everything is made out of recyclables. All year, Elizabeth looks for potential materials for her creations. Stripped seedpods become corals, soda cans are reborn as turtles, fish or angels, Slurpee lids and plastic bottles give life to sea urchins and starfish, beer caps turn into jellyfish, salad bowls resurrect as mermaids, and the list goes on. Everything is repurposed and painted to create a beautiful ornament.