Thousands of folks were very busy making merry at Honolulu Hale tonight as they awaited the lighting of the 50-foot Christmas tree and the Honolulu City Lights parade — but Aaron Bettencourt was just plain busy.

Bettencourt feverishly worked a hand-cranked machine that converted potatoes into spiral fries at one of the multitude of food stands where people wearing Santa hats, Santa beards, Santa earrings, Santa T-shirts, Santa sunglasses, Santa slippers, reindeer antler headbands, glowing necklaces and all other manner of Ho Ho Ho regalia consumed traditional Yuletide fare such as pizza, shave ice, cotton candy, cheeseburgers, fish and chips, garlic shrimp, fried rice and polish sausage.
Bettencourt , who usually works in the solar heating business, labored at the food stand to help out his girlfriend, Tammy Lenwai. People taking orders kept yelling out “need one spiral!” as Bettencourt, who was surrounded by boxes of potatoes, slapped spuds into place, furiously cranked the handle that turned the gear that spun the rotating blade that produced ribbons of curly fries and mopped his face.
His rough estimate was that he would handle “five or ten thousand” potatoes by 10 p.m.
On stage, Mayor Mufi Hannemann crooned melodically about “chestnuts roasting by an open fire” and “folks dressed up like Eskimos.”
Denice Keliikoa had come to town from Waiçanae with her 3-year-old granddaughter Mokihana, who was taking in her very first Christmas parade ever.
“Look, look, look,” Keliikoa told Mokihana, “the tree you can see it.
The mayor introduced Gail Miyashiro, a city employee from Salt Lake, who helped decorate the first City Lights Christmas Tree 25 years ago. She saved her homemade ornament from that occasion, an angel made of ribbon.
“My angel is 25 years old,” she said proudly.
Miyashiro, with the help of the mayor and a bevy of city politicos and potentates, flipped the switch that lit up the Christmas tree and the crowd went wild.
The parade tramped by with trumpets blaring out “Frosty the Snowman,” “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” to the cheering thousands.
For more on this story, see tomorrow's Honolulu Advertiser.