WCA town meeting this evening
The Waimea Community Association’s monthly Virtual Town Meeting will get underway at 5:30 p.m with a wide-ranging look at the continuing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on community safety and well-being, including news about getting the “yellow light” to restart the community’s popular Twilight Christmas Parade set for Dec. 4.
Also included in the town meeting agenda will be the first of an ongoing salute to the community’s pandemic heroes, including Maile Lincoln, volunteer lead of the Annunciation Community Food Pantry. Also on the agenda will be information on a hands-on workshop at Tutu’s House to provide tools and resources to support resume writing and job hunting by Lori Ferrin of Waimea, and updates from County Council and Hawaii Police Department representatives. The Kohala Center will also discuss the two-lined spittle bug.
The meeting will be streamed “live” on the association’s Facebook page. Community members are invited to submit questions by emailing them to WaimeaCommunityAssociation@gmail.com. The meeting will be saved to Facebook and YouTube for on-demand viewing thereafter.
Tropical fruit conference set
“Mango Makers and Food Preservers” is the title of the 31st Hawaii International Tropical Fruit Conference set for Oct. 8 and 9 at the Maui County Business Resource Center. The 2021 conference will be both in-person and virtual, and continue with mini-sessions and tours in Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, Hilo and Kona Oct. 10 through 14.
Geared toward farmers, educators, orchard managers and proponents of sustainable agriculture, the multi-day conference is presented by the statewide Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers and open to the public. Videos for 2021 presentations will be posted at www.htfg.org.
The 2021 conference offers a lineup of visiting researchers and agro experts sharing information and leading engaging breakout sessions on a variety of fruit-related topics. Attendees will be able to log into discussions on the Tatura trellis system, avocados, advanced dehydration and canning methods, propagation techniques and unusual fruits with future economic potential.
Steve Brady will give the keynote, “The World of Mangos” with Jane Tai and HTFG Executive Director Ken Love offering a presentation on “Processing and Utilizing Your Fruit to Develop Award-Winning, Value-Added Products.” A tour with farmer Jordan Longman at the HTFG Repository will cover fruit fly trap making and pruning techniques utilized in Australia and Japan.
A retired internist, Brady has been collecting and growing all sorts of tropical and exotic fruit for over six decades. He helped found the Naples Botanical Garden and was curator of its Tropical Fruit and Edible Plants Collection. A resident of the Sunshine State, Brady teaches an annual class on mangos for the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Science as well as training classes for master gardeners.
Registration forms and fee schedule are available at www.htfg.org or by contacting Love at kenlove@hawaiiantel.net or Mark Suiso at mark.suiso@gmail.com.