Masquerade Madness UYE @ Champs Kaimuki

What a fabulous night! I’m not one to dress up on Halloween, but I had to support one of my Unilocal role models, Kathy A., at her first UYE! This was such a phenomenal event. For just $ 10 you got a buffet of food (salad, eyeballs, Portuguese bean soup, toes) and happy hour prices all night long. Champs also features a gameroom area where you can lose all your money shooting zombies and trying to push coins off of a cliff. Once again, the Unilocal camaraderie was the best part. I loved meeting another batch of Unilocal elites and sharing how we found Unilocal and all the cool events we’ve attended in 2015 so far. Thank you so so much to Kathy for arranging this soirée, loved it!

Kudos to Kathy A who hosted her first and very UYE. She transformed Champs Kaimuki into a fun venue with Halloween decorations and table scapes to match!
Lien V helped with the check ins (Ms Sailor) and made sure each of us had masks. The buffet followed suit to the Halloween theme, garnished with a pot of soup (soup was off the charts), salad, rolls and other great snacks.
Unilocalers kept in beat with their Halloween costumes and masks; a very spirited group of folk! Among the familiar faces were many new ones! And that is the beauty of UYE’s coupled with a holiday (Halloween) theme.
Oh, by the way, Jacob won the grand prize by guessing the number of candy corn in the cup… Yeh!!! Jacob!!!
Mahalo nui Loa Kathy A for a great event. Unilocal Rules!

Congratulations to Kathy A. on hosting her First UYE — it didn’t seem like her first because it was so successful, fun, organized, and well-​attended!
When we arrived, we each got a wrist band for Happy Hour prices at Champs (a great venue), a coupon for a Free drink, a goodie bag, and unlimited servings of Grilled Cheese sandwiches, Portuguese Bean Soup, pickles, Caesar salad, rolls, Cheese, boiled peanuts, Cheesecake, brains, fingers, fangs, eye balls, and other candy! (Got you worried, eh?)
It was such a festive atmosphere with the decorations everywhere — on the table and even hanging from the ceiling!
We got a chance to guess how many Candy Corn in the Giant mug… Jacob (genius that he is) used a scientific method which I am going to try next time! Seems very logical and it worked!
Kathy is so thoughtful — she even provided masks for those who forgot or didn’t bring one!
Okay Kathy — looking forward to your next UYE! Thanks for getting everyone together! Let’s have more fun!

Congratulations on a great first UYE, Kathy A!
About 3 weeks before Kathy A’s UYE, Dave F started nudging me to attend. Kathy also got into the act when I stalled for a bit (I had a conflict on that date that had to be cleared up). Then Kathy really got involved when I told her I had signed up to attend, but she still couldn’t see my reply (there was some kind of glitch that solved itself, eventually). Well thanks Dave & Kathy for the nudges. That was super fun!
First, let’s say that I’m not a huge Halloween fan. But since it was a masquerade, I actually went to the effort of putting together costume and «mask», which turned out to be more fun than I had anticipated. However, when we got to Champs, I found out that Kathy would have had me covered, since she provided gorgeous feather eye masks for everyone who attended. I am definitely going to hang on to the mask for next year!
The other reviews have pretty much covered the details… there were goodie bags, gummy brains, eye balls, fun decorations galore (I loved the color changing skulls), CHOKE food including about 30 gallons of Kathy’s delish Portuguese bean soup, grilled cheese sandwiches (who knew they would go so well with the soup? not I!), boiled peanuts, salad… the list goes on.
I’m not a bar person, so I had no idea what to expect, but found that Champs is pretty great. Not too loud, not too dark, and the perfect environment to just chat with old friends, make new ones and make mischief with Terry K. Even the ladies’ room was bright & clean. Score! I’m not sure what the rules are there, but it even seemed like a family friendly place.
UYE’s by Kathy A and Champs – let’s do both again!

I give major props to Kathy A. for her first UYE at Champs in Kaimuki! She did an excellent job in organizing the event filled with costumes, foods, drinks, and a whole lot of sweetness on Pre-​Halloween Eve!
It was a pleasure to see all my Unilocal friends who have been so supportive and sharing the aloha spirit with me! Hanging with my OG buddies: Davy F, Brian M, Rod U, Terry K, Jacob N, Li Y, Eric R, David T, Nadine C & Kathy A. My apologizes for my late arrival and early departure. Got to make it to another UYE… hint hint Kathy!
Thanks again and can’t wait to see my Unilocal ohana very soon!

Thank You to my new Unilocal BFF, Kathy A.
We both hosted a UYE in the month of October & survived!
Kudos! Bravo! Great Job to You Kathy!
You did a Fantastic Job hosting your very first UYE!
I’ve never been to Champs before & when I checked out the Unilocal reviews,
I couldn’t wait!
When I walked in I was so impressed with everything,
Wow! the decorations! the food! the centerpiece!
You went all out with the Halloween theme!
Thank you Lien for checking me & my plus 1 upon arrival.
collecting our money, giving us our drink tickets, made sure we put in our numbers for the guessing game, & also gave us our mask.
You did a great job! & I love your costume!
Thank you Terry for working so hard helping Kathy, Thank you for the goody bags!
I love the cute little Hilo Hattie tote that the goody comes in. I sure can use them to store my toiletries for traveling.
Wow! There was so much to eat!
Me & my plus one had plans to go eat after the UYE, but I was so surprised!
We really enjoyed your mystery soup Kathy! Me & my other half had more than 1 servings.
Its better than Zippy’s version.
besides the mystery soup, there were rolls, ceasar salad, grilled cheese sandwich, cheese, pickles, & package brownie bites. Everything went so well together!
It was very nice to get together, seeing Unilocalers, chatting, it was just fun to chat & catch up!
It was also nice to meet new Unilocal friends.
I believe the UYE ends at 9 but we were all still having fun past 9.
It was a nice surprise to see Unilocal Legend Santi again, she stopped by to say HI to everyone.
Congratulations Jacob on guessing the right amount of candy corn!
Thank you to Champs for providing such wonderful service. It was my 1^st time here & def won’t be my last. We will be back to hang out with friends.
Over-​all, we had an awesome time!
Thank you Kathy!
See you next year, same time same place! UYE MM #2!

This was my first uye. I was pretty excited and it did not take much convincing from Nadine to decide if I was to attend or not. The theme was masquerade night which fit into Halloween being the next day. I had the privilege of meeting the lovely Kathy who was hosting her first event.
Champs was transformed into a fun fest in a local bar. There was centerpieces, candies, blow up balls, grilled cheeses, soup, bread, cupcakes, baby bell cheese, an abundance of salad, and etc. I could see she was dedicated to making sure everyone would have a good time. I appreciate and I’m very grateful, I was able to take part in the festivities.
Conversation was flowing and the music was good. Entry fee was ten bucks which was a bargain! A free drink, goody bag from
Hilo hatti, and the light refreshments that Kathy had promised was a feast! My favorite was her Portuguese soup that she had cooked from 6am till late afternoon. DELICIOUS! The meats were literally melting in my mouth. With the suggestion from Christa, I dunked my grilled cheese inside the soup and oh my goodness… sooo good!!!
I would also like to thank Lien in partnering up with Kathy. It takes a lot of planning, but with help it alleviates some of the pressure and work. She was in charge of checking in the peeps and collection. Oh yes the guessing of the candy corn in a cup. I was 300 off darn it! Terry for the goody bags! My favorite was that cheese stick. I need to find out where I can buy those a lol.
Thank you Kathy, and everyone else that I missed that made this event wonderful! It was a great uye!

Date: October 30, 2015
Location: Champs Kaimuki
Reason to go: Attend Kathy A.‘s first UYE
For individuals who don’t know me… my means of transportation is by TheBus. I’m commuting to Kaimuki via Uncle Fasi limousine from the Waianae Coast.
I arrived at the Masquerade Madness UYE after the 5pm hour. I was greeted immediately by Lien who was in charge of collecting the $ 10 entry fee. As I opened my wallet to pay Lien I noticed that I had no cash on hand. I had to leave the premises and find the nearest ASB ATM.
Fast forward to my second entrance to Champs… I paid my $ 10 to Lien and seen Nadine who introduced me to Amy. I also received a goodie bag after paying my fee and guessing how much corn candy in the gigantic coffee cup. I got a yellow wristband which entitles me alcoholic beverages at happy hour prices.
I greeted Kathy A, our lovely and beautiful host for the evening. The first thing she said to me was «Where’s your mask? It’s a masquerade party!»
«Sorry I don’t have a mask,» was my reply. She then informed me to grab a mask from Lien.
As I was deciding on which mask to use Angel approached me and says «Glad you can make it.» With thanks to Unilocal I gained a distant cousin. Kathy took our photo and labeled us The Pang Gang.
I took noticed of the Halloween decorations around the bar section that our group was in. There were skeletons on tables, different colored monster beach balls (I wish I took one of these home with me), and ghosts or ghouls hanging around.
My first alcoholic drink for the night was a Ketel One screwdriver which I had to pay an extra $ 2.00 since it is not part of the beer, wine, or champagne menu. My next two drinks was from the beer menu… Redd’s Strawberry Ale. I’m not much of a beer drinker but this ale was pretty good.
Our host for the evening kept on reminding the Unilocal attendees «Go eat. There’s Portuguese bean soup that I made. I don’t want to take any food home.»
Taking a look at what is there to eat I noticed bowls of boiled peanuts, bowls of gummy brains and eyeballs, Babels cheese, quarter slices of grilled cheese sandwiches, slices of pickles, toss salad, dinner rolls, and a pot of Portuguese bean soup. There was a bigger pot of Portuguese bean soup on the floor in case the two smaller pots ran out.
So many yummy foods to choose from so I decided on a bowl of boiled peanuts, 3 bowls of Portuguese bean soup, 2 slices of grilled cheese sandwich, a small container of sliced pickles, and 3 dinner rolls. I was stuffed afterwards. If only there were takeout bowl containers then I would have taken some Portuguese bean soup home.
Mahalo Kathy, finally get to meet you in person, for a wonderful UYE. Mahalo to all other individuals who helped Kathy on her first UYE a success. This event I managed to chat with individuals whom I have friended before and I also managed to make new friends as well. Looking forward in attending another UYE by Kathy.

Ahhh, Feijoada Trasmontana! O que nao mata, engorda. Todo momento com voce e magico.
O amor esta no ar. Cerveja, vinho, ginja, porto.
Meu amigo!
«Eh bruddah, I don’t know wat you sta talking about» comes the a voice in my head.
«Feijoada Trasmontana, the famed bean stew of Portugal, cabbage, carrots, onions, garlic, pig hocks and assorted parts (ears if you have them), chourica sausage, blood sausage, and of course beans, simmered low and slow» glowingly answered by cultured, melodic voice.
«Dis dakine UYE sta in Hawaii. Da soup stay por-​to-​gee bean soup. Not Fe-​jo no can pronounce. Had plenty beer and stuff fo drink surrounded by good bruddahs and sistahs».
«O que nao mata, engorda. (what doesn’t kill you fattens you up)» timidly muttered.
«Eh, goin slap you» answers the voice.
Congrats Kathy A on a phenomenal debut UYE. Well organized, festive All Hallows’ Eve mask that embodied Unilocal’s finest party values: good food, good drink, and most importantly, great camaraderie!
Sorry followers, if you were expecting a play by play of the night’s frivolities; keep your shirt on Brian M, Dave F stop putting those dollar bills in her…, Terry K’s infamous Coyote Ugly bar top dance, you just have to attend the next one. (Named Unilocalers did not to those things, they did much worse, JK).
Waiting with bated breath until the next one.
Cheers Kathy A!

I’m not sure if it’s cool to review the UYE that one hosted but since it was my first endeavor I’m wading into the pool!
First and foremost thank you to Terry K for guiding me thru this entire process and being moral support when I wandered off the deep end. The goodie bags she put together were awesome. She was in it right up to the end of the event helping and supervising the clean up and packing it all back in my car.
Thank you Brian M who came to my rescue and redid the event site that I muffed and lock up. WTF did I do, not a clue but he redid it and made it pretty. He also did the check in for the event, much Mahalos! Kudos to Lien V who at the last minute jumped in to help me unload a car trunk, back seat and half the front seat then decorate. The ghoul was hung by Lien who climbed on a bar stool to hand it on the wifi router on the ceiling! Lien was also the cashier and chief administrator for the party! I thank you so much.
Champs did a fantastic job on the service end instructing the service people and keeping the drinks flowing. The also made those grilled cheese sandwiches which are a bar favorite.
It was so much fun and everyone that attended had an awesome time and were great sports wearing the masks or face paint they came in or one that was provided at check in. You know a party is successful when it’s over at 9:00PM and veeps are still imbibing, chatting and laughing at 10:00PM. Jacob won the Big Deal, 8 cup mug being the closest guess of the 630 total candy corn.
Again, thank you to my helpful elves and all those who attended. I’m humbled you loved my Portugese Bean Soup and all the food. Hawaii Unilocalers are awesome! Look at all the pictures of all the fun!

Some months ago, my friend Kathy A. told me to keep this date open because she was gonna plan a UYE. Shootz! As the months went by, she finally made it official and listed it. I jumped on right away because I knew it would be a fun filled, ghoulish event! Hehe, yep, lots of good food and flowing drinks! After checking in and dropping the $ 10 fee, which included 1 drink, I had a nice chat with my friends Lien and Eric Robert who were manning the reception table. First things first, had to take care of that thirst! Got an ice cold Heineken which tasted extra good being in such great company and surroundings. I know Lien was telling me to guess how many jelly beans were in the jar in front for the contest, but I completely forgot! I was having too much fun… Uh, Lien, can I put in my guess now???
It was great having drinks with my Unilocal bro Brian M and also seeing old friends! I did miss some of my friends who couldn’t make it out too… It was also really nice to meet some new people that I hadn’t known, just goes to show how much Unilocal is expanding and how many people are joining and coming out to events. If you’ve never been to Champs, you gotta go and check them out. They have a nicely stocked bar out in front and lots of room to relax and watch a game on the big screens or maybe to shoot pool on one of the tables! If you like arcade style games, head to the back and there’s some for you to enjoy! This was a fun event and I want to thank Kathy for a well planned event and also to her helpers who did a great job making it work! Hope to see everyone again soon!

Thank you and congratulations to Kathy A. for hosting such a fun UYE @Champs! The party was masquerade themed so everyone had masks on. It was her first time hosting and she did such a great job. All night long she checked in on us Unilocalers to make sure that we were ok, always telling us to help ourselves to the food on the table. The two items on the food table that stood out, were the grilled cheese sandwiches that she ordered from Champs, and her homemade Portuguese bean soup. She started cooking the soup at 6am. No wonder the soup was so tasty. It really could rival the one at Zippy’s.
I saw some familiar faces and met some new ones. It’s always fun to chat with different Unilocalers. They always have interesting stories to tell. Everyone was taking pictures as usual. Some of us were even throwing the plastic balls around. It seems that everyone had a good time.
The place was decorated beautifully. She had candy galore on each table. I couldn’t stop eating the brain gummies. She also gave each of us a goody bag to take home.

The Happy Hour that wouldn’t quit!
This was such a great UYE put on by Kathy A. at Champs in Kaimuki. It is such a great venue for her first UYE. It has that neighborhood bar feel and Kathy did such a great job of decorating it for all her Unilocal guests.
The tables were set with bowls of eerie candies and each of us got goodie bags and masquerade masks to choose from. There was a great spread of food to go with our drinks, which were at happy hour prices all night. There were grilled cheese sandwiches, salad, mini cheesecakes, and rolls to go with her homemade Portuguese bean soup. The soup was such a hit… chocked full of sausage, beans and pasta in a delicious red broth! A meal in itself! There were also the most flavorful boiled peanuts provided by Terry K.
Thanks also to Lien V. for getting us all checked in and getting the party started. We got our first drink ticket and a chance to guess the number of candies in the giant coffee mug.
Everyone had a great time. It was such a relaxing evening with friends at our «neighborhood bar». My hat’s, or turban, you had to be there, is off to Kathy A. for a wonderful UYE that allowed everyone to do more socializing than I have ever seen at a UYE. Good Job!

Wow Kathy A. is an awesome UYE host and cook! What a fun masquerade party in the heart of Kaimuki and Champs was very good to us and so accommodating to our group. The EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT of WORK Kathy did in making this masquerate madness possible deserves many resounding applauses. Prior to setting up the decorations and food, Kathy had to battle the madness at Iwilei’s Costco in order to pick up the food supply. Man or woman, I am «scared headless» of this Costco location because it’s a well-​known fact this store is insanely hectic and crazy! She begins her UYE with this total madness!
As soon as you walk into Champs, you could tell there was a themed party happening here. Other patrons really dig the festive décor with all their delighted comments of oohs and aahs. Halloween decorations were so cool: that not very friendly ghostly dude hanging near the entrance sure made a statement, Mr. & Mrs. Skully fit perfectly on the front table, plates of brain gummies are plentiful if you dare, large lit-​up (and minature-​colored) skulls were appropriately placed throughout the room, cute Halloween balloons adorned each of our tables, edible (and inedible) eyeballs stared us down and bright orange napkins labeled «Drink up Witches» helped us stayed very bloody clean. I think I ate a whole bowl of brain gummies non-​stop. Fun, fun, fun…
After checking in on our Unilocal app and paying the $ 10 entry fee, we were giving a ticket for 1 complimentary drink and each of us also got a yellow wristband so we can buy drinks at a special price: happy hour prices til 9 PM. Then we each received a neat Hilo Hattie gift bag (courtesy of Terry K) to take home. Also, a notebook was provided for us to write down our guess for the number of corn candies contained in that ginormous coffee cup. Jacob N. was the winner; he guessed 640 corn candies and won that BIG coffee cup. Is he going to eat all 630 corn/​pumpkin candies from that cup? Kathy was so well prepared; she even provided gorgeous masks for those who may have not showed up with any. This is after all a masquerade partay.
Let’s face it — going to an UYE is almost always about food and drinks. And the food Kathy put out was fantastic. She’s one terrific cook because I’m not much of a fan of Portugese bean soup but I’ll definitely not hesitate to eat her home-​made Portugese bean soup ANYTIME. She must have made enough to feed an Army and then some. The soup pot was big, heavy and thank goodness, she refilled the pot for us a couple of times. We were good eaters… lol. In addition, she brought delicious dinner rolls to go with the soup, lots of Caesar salads, regular & light Babybel cheese wheels and individually wrapped petite brownie bites for dessert. Terry K contributed more food to our feast: jumbo-​sized boiled peanuts, amazing grilled cheese sandwiches cut in quarters (so we can put them in the soup if we so desired) and a tray full of pickle sticks along with packages of good mayo spread.
A night of such ghoulish mayhem at Champs! Yep, that is all about sums it up. I love how we all Unilocalers and Non-​Yelpers looked in our masks and costumes; especially that red headed woman and the bloody «on hand» noose-​working and hardcore-​necklace-​wearing-​paniolo from the Big Island. I got such a kick out of seeing the Cheetah sistas arriving in style and smiles. And who could forget the turban-​top, «comfortable pants» Mr. Clean wearing that feather face mask? Thank you everyone for making this such a fun prelude night to the actual fright night. Thank you Kathy A for a wonderful masquerade and crossing my fingers for next year’s masquerade if she’s willing. Wink… wink. please don’t forget to make the Portugese bean soup Kathy!

What a Great job Kathy A. did decorating her UYE event! Loved the small details from all the tables being spooked out to the ghoulish figure hanging at the check in table.
It was a fun evening of drinking, eating and lots of chatting, time seem to fly by so darn fast. Loved that costumes that some of Unilocalers wore, they all looked awesome!
Big Big Mahalo’s and Congratulations to Kathy on her first UYE, she is one «Hell» of a gracious host.

In life people come and go. When you come across a great one you do your best to stay with them.
I cannot recall the exact time nor date when I first met Kathy A. but I vividly remember her when she took part in one of my UYE’s at Happy Garden. She and her table mates kept on toasting with Japanese SAKE as each dish arrived. Then I got to really know her at one of the Unilocal Book Club UYE’s earlier this year at Ambar. So lively. So much fun. So generous. She is such a great person.
When I found out she was hosting her very first UYE I marked my calendar. Previously had 2 things going on Friday night but made a note to stop by, may it even be brief.
However, when I woke up this morning I didn’t feel that well. With such HUMID and sticky weather I felt yucky and had a hard time going on with my normal business. But when looking at my calendar I saw this UYE. Regardless of me feeling worse I made the effort to stop by to offer my support. I know what it’s like to host UYE’s. Lots of work. Lots of planning. Thoughts about things going wrong. Thoughts about not many people showing up. I ended up cancelling my other 2 events to briefly stop by tonight.
After finding FREE street meter parking on Waialae, I walked over here and was greeted by the ever so lovely Terry K. and Lien V. We exchanged a few words before the GORGEOUS redheaded hostess Kathy A. showed up. I gave her a ginger lei and congratulated her hard work and apologized my stay would be brief.
The next thing I know the psycho nurse dressed in Hello Kitty Halloween scrubs pops up and we take a few photos. It’s always great to bump into Auntie. Just LOVE her!!!
For those who attended I sincerely apologize for not socializing with you as I did not want to spread germs.
Just by briefly scoping the scene tonight it’s evident Kathy A. put a lot of time and resources to tonight’s UYE and I congratulate her. I hopefully will be healthy the next UYE she hosts. I’ll be there if I’m on this island.
And that’s a promise. Good people are hard to find. Kathy A. is one of them.
NOTE: Terry K. offered a remedy for my cold. A shot of scotch would do the trick I was told. We then put our two heads together and because we’re considered neighbors (we live close to each other which is about a 10−15min drive from Kaimuki) I had to drive back home with some distance. Rain check please.