It was Shake, Rattle & Roll at the Nifty 50s/60s/70s Oldies Bash Sock Hop last night at the Pacific Beach Hotel Grand Ballroom. The Hop was soldout many months ago due to its popularity and mostly through the hard working Chairman (Wendell Kwan) and his Committee Members (Tony Caluya, Floence Hayashi, Ann (Nosaka) Kabasawa, Charlene (Sakai) Kwan, Phil Nakayama, Dianne (Kawakami) Okumoto, Sharon (Young) Uesugi, and Diane (Hayamizu) Yoshida. Clearly, there were at least 800 Senior Teenagers in attendance if not more, to relive those classic golden oldies of the Rock & Roll era. (Left click on photo to zoom in)
I'm gonna flashback for a minute here. Last night's Bash was the 7th and it seems to get bigger each succeeding year. If my memory serves me well, Lani and I have been to the last three Sock Hops and we've enjoyed everyone of them.
We got to the Pacific Beach Hotel about an hour before the doors were opened at 5PM. I thought we'd beat the crowd by going early to be sure of finding a parking spot. I guess others had the same notion 'cause when we got to the Grand Ballroom, the foyer was SRO and it was a tight squeeze getting to the Reception Table. However there were a lot of Senior Teenagers socializing...Lani with Florence Hayashi and later Tony Caluya from Frankfurt American HS came over for a friendly chat. The foyer was buzzing with friendly faces and a lot of them were having that "Green River" beverage as refreshment. Many of the gals were dressed like "Bobby Soxers" and the guys not so much. Outside the Ballroom were filled with decorations and memorabilia of the Rock & Roll years....da old jukebox, pictures of Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, etc. The entrance to the Ballroom was decorated with arches.
Inside the Ballroom was decorated with colorful balloons large and small and the stage looked like a scene from a fairytale.
Our assigned table was fully decorated with colorful balloons and cardboard Ford cars filled with candies and chewing gum. I didn't take a good look at the candy and gum wrappers until I got home. Wow! they were da kine sold during the 50s and 60s...Beeman Gum, Chiclets, Candy Cigarettes, Sugar Daddy, Mary Janes (not da smoking kine), Necco, Clarks Gum, Tootsie Roll to name a few. What a brilliant idea to help criusing back to memory lane. Our table was at the edge of the dance floor which gave us a good view of the dance floor, the stage, and the DeeJay's nest.
Music was played by DeeJays Doug Oshiro and his lovely wife Lisa of Tapestry Karaoke & Sound. Doug Oshiro doesn't only spin the music disc but he also sings as he did last night at the Bash. Doug's voice is so mellow that you'd think it was one of the crooners on the disc singing the song.
The beat of da Mash Potato, Cha Cha, Rock& Roll, and da Twist continued on as more dancers filled the dance floor. Talk about dancing on the edge of the dance floor. There must've been at least three hundred gyrating dancers on the dance floor and some never left after the music ended. It was energy abound that generated throughout the Ballroom.
At about 6PM, Chairman of the Bash Wendell Kwan welcomed all the Senior Teenagers and presented the Committee Members...a remarkable group of tireless volunteers who designed and help make each years Bash a successful one.
EmCee for the event was the extremely talented and funny OC16 TV personality Champ. He was hilarious dishing out some humorous wisdom that tickled the funny bone and kept the program moving with much enthusiasm and anticipation.
Invocation was said by Sharon Feetham and then it was time to hit the buffet line. At da Hop, dance music continued throughout the dinner period as well as after.
A surprise guest, Melveen Leed entertained us belting out one of her new CD tunes "One Note Samba". The rendition has a swinging tempo that it tempted some dancers to Rock & Roll to it. Ms Leed was so powerful in that song that she was asked to do another number that brought more dancers onto the dance floor.
Guest Music DeeJay Uncle Tom Moffatt stirred up the emotions and excitement as he did many years ago as a radio DeJay with jive jumping tunes and some slow romantic ones. Recently Uncle Tom had undergone two hip replacement operation but that enticing voice was still operational. And with including audience participation into the very song that's been played, it's no wonder everyone enjoyed his presence.
And the beat goes on till it was time for the Dance Contest. It turned out to be a swift dance marathon. Ay Caramba! But you know Lani; she was born to dance and she had warned me earlier that she was gonna dance my A** off tonight. There were about twelve couples entered for this grueling competition. On tap were Da Mash Potato, Rock & Roll, Cha Cha, Waltz, and more Rock & Roll. I think there were eight tunes played and most of the couples dropped out slowly leaving five couples to contest for the 1st place prize.
Unfortunately, I developed a leg cramp and had to drop out half way through the last dance. Auwe! But fortunately, Lani and I were among the last five couples on the floor and that got us the 5th place prize.
Concluding the program was the Costume Contest for Guys and Gals. First was the Gals; all twenty-two dressed like they would going to Prom Night in the 50s and 60s..beautiful and very colorful.
There were no Fonzi look-alike this year for the Guys. Only eight Guys entered the contest but they sure entertained the audience with their gyration to the music. Among them were a well dressed Gangster with a toy machine gun, a Hippie dressed in Hippie costume, a Ball Player, and a few dressed like Sylvester Stallone.
The Table Centerpiece was awarded to the person holding a red cardboard car, and the battery operated rose decor was awarded to the persons holding a yellow, and a pink cardboard Ford sedan.
It was another enjoyable Nifty 50s/60s/70s Oldies Bash Sock Hop for my main gal and me and we are looking forward to next years amazing Sock Hop. Upon leaving the Grand Ballroom, everyone received a music CD with 27 tunes from the 50s/60s and 70s. With the CDs, Centerpiece, the rose decor, and 5th place prize, it was time to call it a fantastic evening and hit the road back home.
Last dance was at 12AM.
