Party With SuperCW

Christa Wittmier, pictured here at her house earlier this year, is hosting a retirement/birthday party Dec. 21 ANTHONY CONSILLIO PHOTO

Christa Wittmier, pictured here at her house earlier this year, is hosting a retirement/birthday party
Dec. 21 ANTHONY CONSILLIO PHOTO

Chances are, you know Christa Wittmier from somewhere. Even if you’ve never met her, you know who she is. Maybe you know her from her DJ sets, or maybe from her writing in various local publications (including this one), or from her work with POW! WOW!, or from the pool parties she throws. But you might not know that in addition to everything else, Wittmier (aka SuperCW) also has been the senior marketing director at Young’s Market Company of Hawaii for the last eight years.

Now, Wittmier is retiring from the position, so she’s toasting to her career with, of course, a huge party. Super-CW’s Official Liquor Industry Retirement And Birthday Party Fundraiser takes place from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. Dec. 21 at Hawaii Events Center.

Wittmier is taking full advantage of the large indoor-outdoor venue, with two stages featuring an eclectic lineup of live music, food, fashion and more. Verses Undefined, Castle Park and Already Sweaty will be playing, as well as DJs KuroKumo, Bozz, Tittahbyte, Jem and Godiva. Other entertainment includes performances by Volary Aerial Burlesque and live art demonstrations by POW! WOW! artists. Food will be provided by town, Juicy Brew and more. Local fashion designer Matt Bruening also will be debuting his new collection, Feel No Waves, with a fashion show.

During her tenure with Young’s, Wittmier has hosted brand launches (most recently, Fat Tire’s local debut), parties, golf tournaments and more.

The decision to retire from Young’s comes as Wittmier is choosing to prioritize her health. After she was first diagnosed with stage IV cancer last year, she went right back to work.

“My doctor was gently suggesting that I take it easy every check-up because she saw how much energy I had and was putting into everything else but my own health,” Wittmier says. “I didn’t care or listen to her — I was jamming and I was feeling healthy and strong.”

After only four months, Wittmier’s scans came back clean. But over the summer, the cancer had returned — and had spread throughout her body. She finally decided to take a step back from work.

“When the cancer came back and came back so aggressively, I finally listened,” she says. “In the liquor business, there is no such thing as going slow, so it is better for me and for my company if I retire.

“The key lesson from what happened this summer — the cancer coming back so strongly in so many organs and being given such a dismal prognosis — is that whether or not I like it, I have to slow down,” Wittmier continues. “I have to put myself first and my health first.”

Of course, though, Wittmier isn’t calling it quits for all of her various ventures. She plans to continue her ongoing work on a documentary detailing her battle with cancer. Plus, she says she intends to continue DJing certain events when she can — she recently played, for instance, the Jumanji wrap party and Diner en Blanc.

You also can find Wittmier speaking at the Wanderlust Festival this February — which could be, she hopes, the first of other speaking gigs if it goes well.

“My only purpose now is to share my story and everything I’ve had to go through and learn with as many people as possible,” Wittmier says. “I’m pretty sure (that’s) why this all happened to me.”

Hawaii Events Center is located at 985 Dillingham Blvd. Tickets cost $30 pre-sale via eventbrite.com; student discounts are available at the door with valid ID. Proceeds will benefit her ongoing treatment. For more information, visit supercw.com or find it on