Yesterday was Community Day for the YMCA of Honolulu, and its facilities threw open their doors from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to individuals and families from Leeward to Windward O'ahu.

The free, islandwide event featured fun and games, entertainment, fitness classes, kids activities, contests and prizes at the Central, Kaimuki-Wai'alae, Kalihi, Leeward, Mililani, Nu'uanu and Windward branches.

"It's just a way to let the community come in and see what we do and have a good time," said Erin Chun, the welcome-desk clerk at the Nu'uanu branch, who was busy signing up new members.

It was also a way for organizers who show off the upgrades and improvements happening at all the YMCA facilities across O'ahu.

"This is the prototype," said Mike Doss, executive director of the Leeward Branch in Waipahu, who greeted folks at the door and even gave impromptu tours to a few lucky individuals who seemed startled to learn that YMCA facilities are no longer the old "gym and swim" clubs of decades gone by.

"This is what all the YMCA facilities on the island are moving toward," Doss said.

Locating the Leeward YMCA is as simple as going to Waipahu and scanning the horizon for the old sugar mill smokestack, which towers over the community. The mill, which dominated Waipahu for nearly 100 years, has been defunct since 1995. But the smokestack stands as the monument and centerpiece to the state's newest, largest and most modern YMCA — which will celebrate its one-year anniversary in March.

"It's a melding of old and new," said Doss, pointing out the "old" attempts to preserve much of the original mill decor and structure, while the "new" is a $10 million, state-of-the-art complex.

Among other things the facility features five mini locker rooms, each designed to accommodate an entire family, a full-size, 25-yard, six-lane swimming pool, and a 5,000-square-foot fitness center with cable TV monitors built into every piece of the latest in cardio exercise equipment.

While each YMCA branch on the island is moving in unison to do the facility and equipment upgrades, Doss said each also maintains its individual character.

'I LOVE THIS PLACE'

"Virtually all our Y's have something unique," he said.

For example, the new Kalihi Y, which opened in December 2005, is the smallest facility on the island, according to Erin Berhman, the membership director.

"And yet we have the largest staff — it's about 120 people altogether."

Reason: the facility specializes in teen treatment programs, including its "Rural Youth" outreach program, which has staff and personnel fanning out to schools in O'ahu's country locations.

"A lot of people tend to look at the Kalihi Y as being a center for teen programs — and we are," said executive director Tony Pfaltzgraff. "But in addition to that, we have the full range of workout activities here. That's probably what people don't know about the place."

Either way, Farrington High School student Jabriel Walker, 16, is sold.

"I love this place," he said as he watched cartoons on a cardio exercise machine. "It gives me something to do. It keeps me interested in things that I don't find at school. It has taught me a lot of life skills. It's open to anybody, and it has a great staff.

"To me, these people are like family."

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.