Make room for Waikiki by Moonlight — Vintage Meets Vogue, which makes its debut tonight on Kalakaua Avenue.

It could be another Waikiki tradition in the making.

"It's a new signature, which we intend to duplicate annually," said Rick Egged, president of the Waikiki Improvement Association, one of the sponsoring organizations.

"We want to bring the best of Hawaiian entertainment, the best food in Waikiki, and create an ambiance of a giant street cafe," Egged said.

The attraction — with the main stage in front of the ResortQuest Waikiki Circle Hotel — will feature music by Auntie Genoa Keawe, Henry Kapono and Keahiwai, representing a spectrum from the past, the recent past and the present.

Jeff Apaka will perform a tribute to his late father, the golden-voiced Alfred Apaka, who was a luminary from the Golden Age of Hawaiian music. Apaka plans to offer classics such as "My Hawaiian Song of Love," "Mapuana," "There's No Place Like Hawai'i," "My Isle of Golden Dreams" and "I Wish They Didn't Mean Goodbye."

Egged said the new event is deliberately small-scale, not like the Aloha Festivals Waikiki Ho'olaule'a, which shuts down the main avenue for many more blocks and requires a larger retinue of participating vendors, entertainers and staff.

"This year, the centennial of the city, was a good time to launch this," he said of the retro-spirited activity aimed at both visitors and residents.

The intention is to provide a pau-hana destination without impeding other prevailing Waikiki events, such as beachfront torch-lighting ceremonies or showroom agendas in a handful of hotels along Kalakaua. The event is planned as an annual event, though the date next year could change.

Kelvin Bloom, president of ResortQuest Hawai'i, said the celebration "brings back favorite elements of Hawai'i's past in an outstanding street-festival atmosphere."

Vendors and crafters will demonstrate and sell vintage and modern artifacts; wood carving, lauhala and coconut frond weaving and lei-making are among the activities.

There will be displays, and in some cases the opportunity to buy vintage Hawaiian memorabilia such as posters, photographs, record albums, sheet music and aloha shirts.

A range of restaurants — Tiki's Grill & Bar, Top of Waikiki, Seafood Village, Duke's, Neptune's Garden and Hyatt Regency Waikiki — will provide food and drinks.

A vintage aloha-wear fashion show also is planned.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.