Hawaiian Music Festival has something for all
The first of what is scheduled as an annual event goes on despite rain
Photo by Tre Cravalho
Hula dancers enthrall the audience while Kealii Reichel serenades them, at the Hawaiian Music Festival at Maui Tropical Plantation on September 6, 2015.
WAILUKU — With a 17 artist line-up, the 1st annual Hawaiian Music Festival began Sunday, September 6. The event took place all day starting from 12 noon until its ending at 10 p.m at Maui Tropical Plantation.
The festival not only featured many different Hawaiian artists, but also an array of booths from food to merchandise. The food being sold ranged from local favorites such as spicy poke bowls and warm, delicious poi mochi to specially prepared teppanyaki.
Two food trucks were also located at the back of the venue, which attracted many people.
In addition to the food booths, the organizers, Cravalho Entertainment, also set up a Keiki Zone, an open area with jumping castles, pony rides, and makahiki games, where children of all ages could play. The Keiki Zone also had a face painting and nail art booth. And the snacks in the Keiki Zone included every child’s favorites, including popcorn, cotton candy and cool, refreshing Braddah Pops.
A little over an hour into the concert, the first of three waves of rain appeared, but attendees stayed on to watch the entertainment from under umbrellas.
“My biggest fear when it started to rain was that everyone would get up and leave,” said Darrett Schoeppner, head of security, “but that didn’t happen. The rain actually cooled off people, and the traffic coming into the event started to pick up.”
All in all, the crowd was filled with smiling faces and Josh Cravalho, owner of Cravalho Entertainment, said, “This event was a huge success, and will only get bigger and better.”
