A woman and young boy standing in the shallow end of the Big Pool raised their arms and began swiveling their hips in a mock hula dance as Hawaiian music drifted from a poolside speaker Friday afternoon.



The scent of tropical suntan oil filled the air.



At the pool entrance, people were in line to attend the Big Pool Luau, a Hawaii-themed three hours of swimming. For $3 admission, guests could enjoy special events, prizes and tropical decorations.



Garden City Recreation Commission Aquatics Director Monica Colborn, along with the pool�s lifeguards, were decked out in Hawaiian costumes, including grass skirts, ankle bracelets and leis, the traditional Hawaiian necklaces draped with flowers. In the children�s pool, the elephant slide had three leis around its raised trunk. A lifeguard strolled over to add a fourth.



Colborn said she has helped organize the event for the past three years.



�This is our mid-summer fun event where the lifeguards enjoy getting dolled up,� she said, smiling. She said the Luau has drawn about 200 people for the past two years.



The planned activities have been the same at each event, she said, and include games specially geared for different age groups: a duck race for toddlers, a relay race for ages 4 to 8 and a limbo competition, as well as a hula dancing contest for everyone.



Prizes were various aquatic-themed toys, including a water-squirting dolphin.



Each guest received a ticket with a number, and every so often, a winning number was announced over the loud speaker so guests could claim their prizes.



Nina Ross, 15, stopped at the pool entrance, where a lifeguard greeted her with a lei around her neck and offered a small temporary tattoo shaped like a Hawaiian flower. Ross opted to have the flower rubbed onto her cheek.



She said it was her first time attending the luau.



�I came to hang out with my friends and see what it�s all about,� she said.



Lifeguard Megan Strecker was ready in her stand as guests began to wade and swim. She said all the lifeguards pitched in to decorate, and last year, some, including herself, even competed in the hula dance contest.



�It was a lot of fun,� she said. Then she laughed and added. �None of the lifeguards won. We were horrible.�



At the toddler duck race, the first event, which began promptly at 1:30 p.m., eager 2- and 3-year-olds waited, some held back by their mothers, to wade into the water and chase a small fleet of floating rubber ducks with numbers written on their bottoms. The toddlers who collected ducks numbered 1 through 5 won sunglasses. All competing toddlers also got to keep any ducks they caught.



Garden City resident Lana Nevin brought her 3-year-old daughter, Caty, to the duck race. She watched as Caty scooped up one of the lucky ducks and claimed her prize sunglasses. Then she laughed as Caty dashed back into the pool.



�She�s going in to collect more ducks,� Nevin said.