We journalists are admittedly a bit isolated when it comes to exciting events happening out here in our home base of Waterfront Plaza, the complex that contains what most people know as Restaurant Row. Every once in a while you’ll get a nightclub opening that somehow causes women’s underwear to drop for some inexplicable reason or a bakery winning Cupcake Wars, but honestly, our thrills have been limited to Eat the Street events being held kitty-corner from across our offices; the Redbox-esque DVD rental machine being installed at the convenience store downstairs; the bubble drinks served up at the Chinese plate-lunch place; and our building, Building 7, quietly being renamed Star-Advertiser Tower (sorry, Hawaii Family Dental Center).
Which is why an event at Nocturna Lounge on Saturday has me so intrigued. Ostensibly, it’s the Science Fiction Ball presented by the Pacific Outpost 501st Legion, a benefit for Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii, but the event has grown over the past few weeks to be so much more than just a sci-fi gathering. Cosplay fan? Dress up in your own costume or admire those worn by the Costumers Guild of Hawaii, the Ghostbusters group, the 501st and the Last Outpost Star Trek group. Love art? Watch members from Comic Jam Hawaii doing their freestyle sketches, bid on some pieces in an art auction or just buy pieces outright in an art sale. Have a hankering to sing Princess Leia’s Life Day song from The Star Wars Holiday Special? Somehow I doubt that’s in any song catalog anywhere, but there will be karaoke available at the event. Just like to have a chance at winning stuff? Hello, prize raffle.
Representatives from the ubiquitous-as-of-late-in-Cel-Shaded-Reports Hawaii Entertainment Expo (HEXXP) will be there as well, which allows me the chance to talk up another note that came in about that convention next month: Starting Saturday and running through Oct. 11, use the code “PCAH” at registration checkout, and 25 percent of your registration cost will be donated to Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii. (Oh, and by the way, yet another event has been discovered to be running parallel to HEXXP at Aloha Tower. Contingency plans, as has become standard procedure in the past few weeks, are in the works.)
All of this is happening from 4 to 7 p.m. at Nocturna Lounge, across from Ruth’s Chris Steak House here at Restaurant Row on 500 Ala Moana Blvd. Those of you who are over 21 (which I suspect is 100 percent of my reading audience at this point) can stick around past 7 to enjoy the video games and other delights that Nocturna has to offer. Admission is a give-as-you-see-fit donation to Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii (be generous, now, it’s for a good cause). Visit www.facebook.com/events/350332428375781/
More from the anime news desk
World Cosplay Summit U.S. regional qualifier at HEXXP: Remember back in April, when I was talking about all those requirements that you needed to fulfill to be part of the WCS qualifier? The deadline for one of the most significant requirements is coming up — Oct. 5 is the last day that you can submit resumes, audio and lighting preferences. Get cracking and send that info to wcsprelimsushawaii at gmail dot com.
Hawaii International Film Festival: I’ll have a bit more about fall festival highlights in the next few days — yes, Ghibli films, Mamoru Hosoda and rice rolls gone rogue will all be playing a part in it — but I just wanted to give you non-HIFF members a heads-up that ticket sales to the general public start today. The festival runs from Oct. 11 through the 21st; visit www.hiff.org.
Otaku Ohana 