Thomas Obungen

Associate Editor

Thomas Obungen joined the Frolic Hawai‘i team in 2015 as a contributor after a two-year stint in Los Angeles where his passion for seeking out unique and delicious finds was set ablaze. In the years that followed, he rose the ranks to become the Associate Editor of Frolic Hawai‘i and HONOLULU Magazine as well as the Content Strategy Manager of aio, the magazine’s parent company.

 

Prior to Frolic, he worked for an Apple reseller that outfitted Hollywood’s top studios with custom computers, planned obscure costume parties and wrote press releases for the U.S. Navy. He is a graduate of Mililani High School and Hawai‘i Pacific University.

 

In his free time, he enjoys soaking up too many UV rays at the beach, playing with all the puppers and acquiring cute reusable tote bags only for them to stay in the trunk of his car.

 

Email Thomas

Articles

Top 5 things to do this weekend

Halloween is over, but that doesn’t mean you should go out and buy a Christmas tree just yet! Take a breather before the holidays with a family-friendly fair, fashion, a color run, brunch and a great fundraiser to boot! Reyn…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

All Hallows’ Eve is almost upon us and we’re dying for a weekend of scary good art, Mexican eats, costumed fetes and wicked — yes, dangerously happy hour-priced wicked — whiskeys. RAW: MERGEHonolulu Showcase Thursday, Oct. 29 8 p.m. Crossroads…

Who’s coming: Eat the Street Dia De Los Muertos

Bust out the face paint and brush up on your macabre makeup skills. Our fave foodie fiesta hosts its annual Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration this Viernes with costume contests, trick-or-treating, happy hour, Mexican eats and…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

Halloween starts now with spooktacular movies, ghost tours, pumpkin carvings and more happening around the island! Halloween Family Night Movie Series: ParaNorman Thursday, Oct. 22 6:45 p.m. Kahua Cafe hosts Halloween Family Nights, a free event to take the kids…

Our hood: Mililani

Our hood is a series spotlighting the neighborhoods the Frolic team calls home. Here are favorite places and eats in Thomas Obungen’s Mililani. From the manicured lawns of Mauka to the rolling hills and cookie-cutter homes in Mililani Town, I’ve…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

Get a healthy dose of fall this weekend with with these food, fashion and art events around town! The Food & New Products Show Friday, Oct. 16 – Sunday Oct. 18 Times vary The Blaisdell Exposition Hall hosts the Fall…

Honolulu Night Market: Fall Fiesta guide

While we can’t bust our sweaters out just yet (go away vog!), we can still have a fab fall evening at Honolulu night + market’s Fall Fiesta, where food, fun and fashion fill the streets of Our Kakaako! (OK, no…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

Public school is out so the weekend starts Wednesday with Totoro, a foodie fundraiser, taiko, a huge petwalk and Sunday funday! Keiki Courtyard Cinema: ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ Wednesday, Oct. 7 6 p.m. Treat the kiddies to a night out at…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

The first weekend of October brings in the wealth of fall with art, music, coffee, history and brunch! Find Art @ HiSAM Friday, Oct. 2 6 p.m. Can you believe it’s already First Friday? Find Art, music, fun and more…

Who’s coming: Eat the Street Oktoberfest

Strap on your best lederhosen and pick up a stein! Forget pumpkin spice lattes, it’s Oktoberfest season and our drink of choice is a boot of beer! Prost to a good time during our favorite monthly street fest at Makers…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

Traditions are the trend this weekend as some of Honolulu’s biggest festivals get under way from Chinatown to Waikiki and points in between. 10th Annual Improvaganza Thursday, Sept. 24 – Sunday, Sept. 27 Times vary Improvaganza is a three day…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

Pau hana can’t come soon enough this week, so end it on a high note with various block parties in downtown, Our Kakaako and Waikiki plus a full-fledged comic con all weekend long! Hawaii Literacy Pau Hana Block Party Thursday,…

Honolulu Night Market guide: Home Coming

That nostalgic sense of pride when your team scores a touchdown. The smell of teri burgers and hot dogs charring on the grill. Singing along to your alma mater with more gusto than your jam at karaoke. All these bring…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

World-class wining and dining continues as the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival wraps up its 2015 run, but this weekend also includes handmade goods and fun for the whole family! #HFWF15: Chopstix & Cocktails Thursday, Sept. 10 6 p.m. Pinkies…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

Labor Day weekend signals the end of summer, so we’re going out with a bang by hitting up a couple of festivals, a dog show, art exhibit and a comedy show too! Hawai‘i: Change and Continuity Friday, Sept. 4 6…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

I hope you’re hungry ’cause this weekend is stuffed with foodie fêtes, boatloads of beer, SKY Waikiki’s debut and a sweet deal on ice cream to boot. Makers & Tasters: The Best of Eat the Street Friday, Aug. 28 5…

Makers & Tasters Kewalo preview

The clouds parted ways just in time for the exclusive preview and ceremonial blessing of Makers & Tasters, Street Grindz’s new waterfront food park at Kewalo Harbor. More than 20 vendors, both new and seasoned, dished up signature bites and…

Who’s coming: The Best of Eat the Street

First, the giant news: Eat the Street is doubling in size at a permanent new home. Friday’s edition will be at the old Fisherman’s Wharf site on Ala Moana Boulevard, with about 70 food trucks and stalls selling all kinds…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

Seriously, how much air conditioning can we possibly soak up? Events this weekend will have us heading out for a popup noodle bar, made-in-Hawaii goodies, a SUP jamboree, anime fest and Hawaiian music! Asian Cinema Night Thursday, August 20 7:00…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

Don’t make the new school year an excuse to keep the keiki in! Great outdoor family-friendly events come with sky themes, while a chile festival promises to keep things spicy! Stargazing Thursday, August 13 7:30 p.m. Beginning when the sun…

Honolulu Night Market guide: Summertime Blues

Summer lives on in Our Kakaako with Honolulu Night Market’s August 15 event, Summertime Blues. Save the date, because with all the music, fashion, bites and sips, this most languid of seasons doesn’t get any better. And wait, there’s a…

Our Top 5: Cold brew iced coffee

If you’re like me, your day does not start until you have had coffee. Whether it be an iced quad Americano with Thai walls or a home-brewed cup of joe, it’s what gets our engines going in the morning. For…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

What’s a little wind and rain? The ever-weakening remnants of Guillermo won’t scare me away from enjoying a weekend brimming with musicals, artsy cultural events, concerts and foodie fests! Peace on Your Wings Thursday, August 6-9 7 p.m. An adaptation…

Something new: Okina Cafe

Spending the last couple of years in Southern California, I drank my fair share of milk tea to the point where a boba IV drip stuck in my arm would have been a convenient accessory. Can you say, “boba drunk?”…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

Jam-packed with things do and places to be: Eats from the Middle East, the world’s largest sake event outside Japan, local comedy and nightclub yoga round out the month of July and take us full steam ahead into August. Art…

Who’s coming: Eat the Street Middle East

This list of street eats has my belly dancing! July’s Eat the Street takes us on a magic carpet ride to the delicious flavors of the Middle East. And look who’s joining us: Eat the Street first timers Country Shave…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

We really are in the dog days of summer with National Hot Dog Day, a double dose of treats and a benefit for the Hawaiian Humane Society all going down this weekend! National Hot Dog Day at Hank’s Haute Dogs…

Honolulu Night + Market guide: Dog Days of Summer

Pack up the pooches for the July installment of Honolulu Night + Market. Dog Days of Summer gives a nod to our tail-wagging friends, with doggie accessories, doggie treats and an Instagram pet lookalike contest happening this Saturday. For humans…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

Midway into the season of long days and summer fun, the weekend amps up with mangoes, fashion, exercise and music! Goodwill Goes Glam Thursday, July 16 to Sunday July 19 10 a.m. Local designer Kini Zamora lends his talents as…

Craziest ice cream flavors on Oahu

July is National Ice Cream month and I can’t think of a better reward on a hot summer night than an icy, creamy cone. So when the assignment of sleuthing out Oahu’s strangest, most unusual and just plain weirdest ice…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

Shakespeare, back-to-back kimchi and jajangmyun eating contests, and a huge clam bake. This weekend is a feast for the mind and the stomach. Ward Village Courtyard Cinema: “Just Eat It: a Food Waste Story” Thursday, July 9 6 p.m. Filmmakers…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

Parties, food, fitness and charity: This weekend is going to be busy! Eat. Sleep. Work out. And we haven’t even mentioned the bon dances! Art & Flea: Lost at Sea Thursday, June 25 5 p.m. This month expect to find…

Who’s coming: Eat the Street USA

Now that Eat the Street is getting comfy in its new home at Kakaako Waterfront Park, this month’s culinary theme is — what else? — coast-to-coast grinds from right in the U.S.A. With the country’s birthday right around the corner,…

Top 5 things to do this weekend

The weekend is here! And if you’re still lining up plans, here’s a roundup of some of the things taking place in the island. Start-up Weekend Honolulu Friday, June 19 6 p.m. Whether you’re looking for feedback on that great…

Honolulu Night + Market guide: Sip of Summer

Honolulu Night + Market brings a Sip of Summer this Saturday, with cocktails, locally brewed beers and all kinds of drink to go with all kinds of bites, summer fashions and loads of entertainment. NiteCap is serving 21+ drinks near…