Kohala Country Fair slated for Saturday
Kohala Country Fair slated for Saturday
The 28th Kohala Country Fair will be held Saturday in Kapaau with entertainment, music, games, food booths, keiki activities, contests and more. Organizers are expecting attendance to exceed last year’s 4,000 in an expanded site.
Brother Noland and award-winning songstress Paula Fuga will perform, as well as Kayden Valenzuela, I’land Boiz, Ricardo & Friends, Kristin Lagasse, the Kona Daifukuji Taiko group and hula by Kohala’s own Na Kupuna o Kohala. The entertainment will take place on an elevated stage in the center of the fair.
The fair is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., on a 10-acre site that is owned and donated for use by Iole of Kohala. There will be parking inside the expanded fairgrounds, as well as more room for all the activities.
There will be some 100 food, craft and information booths clustered together in the center of the fair. The food booths will be offering a range of international specialties from Filipino, Thai and Mexican to vegan, Indian and Korean. Besides the basic hamburgers, hot dogs and shave ice, there will be kettle corn, lau-lau, teri pork, spare ribs, fish tacos, tripe stew, chicken hekka, curry, summer rolls, pastele, chili, smoothies, baked goods and root beer floats.
Another highlight will be a greater number of events, from the traditional lua team decorating contest and Spam carving to ipo (gourd) carving. Contests will include a sack race, raw egg on spoon race, water balloon toss, wet sponge pass and tug-of-war, to be held from 10 a.m. to noon. Contestants must sign up before the events, and prizes will be awarded to winners of each contest. In addition there will be demonstrations and exhibits showcasing products made on the Big Island such as Kava Café with Tommy Lawrence, lauhala weaving with master weaver Kuuipo Kalahiki-Morales, ipo carving with Cindy Whitehawk and artist Carol Jean teaching keiki about art.
There will be an exhibition of quality art — oils, pastels and collages — photography, poetry and woodwork (not for sale) in a special section. There also will be a “Made in Kohala” tent where almost 20 vendors plan to sell food and handmade creations, and a number of vendors will sell produce and plants in the agriculture tent.
The fair has always included a wealth of games and activities for keiki. Featured this year will be the Hawaii bungee trampoline, the “Zoo-Choo” train, combo jump, airbrush tattoos, a 50-foot “Slip-n-Slide” and a climbing rock wall. The Hiccup Circus performers will be juggling, unicycle riding and stilt walking throughout the fairgrounds all day. The X-Box “Dance Central” dance competition will be held in the keiki zone.
For more information, visit kohalacountryfair.com.