California’s Jeff Haig said on Friday that Kalapaki Beach’s ‘Shaka Claus’ sand sculpture has just one more day and needs to do a lot of ‘renovation’.
“Christmas is a Sunday, so we’ll be done by Saturday,” Haig said, interrupting work to chat with passing visitors and stopping to observe local-style holiday icons.
“Originally I wanted a surboard, but the Kona winds that dehydrate the sand ruined it. I was drawing a plumeria in the back, but Santa had already lost one eye and said, ‘Chewie idiot.’ Many of you may have named it “Santa”. No, I will finish it by Saturday. “
Not known for his sand sculpting skills, Haig has been visiting the island for years and has created at least three different sculptures for the holidays.
Borrowing tools from local celebrity Dickie Chan, Haig created a sculpture of “Mele Kalikimaka” that serves as a backdrop for countless visitors’ photographs. Now that Christmas is over, he has started working on the “Hauoli Makahiki Hou” piece, which also attracts countless cameras and smartphones for photography.
Finally, if his plan is Kini Popo, he’ll spend another year back in California after creating his “Kung Hee Fat Choy” piece.
“Rabbit,” he said. “This year is the year of the rabbit and we have to breed 80 rabbits. Rabbits are known to breed.”
He said the biggest problem this year is the weather and the prevalence of Kona winds that tend to dry out the sand.
“We need rain,” he said, clapping his hands as dark clouds rolled overhead and droplets began to fall.
“Water! We need water to keep the sand wet. Is Santa coming in his outrigger canoe again? Too much COVID. I don’t know but people are talking about it so we need to get this done .”
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Dennis Fujimotostaff writers and photographers can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.