This past weekend we went to the 23rd annual East Maui Taro Festival & what a great event it was! It was our first time to the festival and the turn out was outstanding. Better yet, the community support for each other and the overall support for community-based management was overwhelmingly heartfelt and unlike any other place.
We attended the festival as part of the Maui Nui Makai Network and helped to host their table. In addition to display materials for the adults we had a great game for the keiki! We hosted a pono fishing game, where kids could come by, grab a bamboo pole, go fishing, measure their catch and determine if it was the right size to keep or if they should throw it back. The table display and game were a huge success and we had a blast interacting with community members and visitors from all around.
The festival had super ono food, most items made with kalo, great music and hula all day, fundraisers for a ton of local groups, native plant sales, poi pounding and kapa making demonstrations and vendors from local businesses. If you have never been to kalo fest, its definitely worth the windy drive to Hāna!