My Kaanapali Weekend

This weekend was the Ka’anapali Fresh “a culinary experience” an event featuring the Chefs, Farmers, creative Mixologists, with music performances Saturday by Makana and Spyro Gyro and Sunday by Third Eye Blind.

My weekend began at the Westin Villas where we checked in for two nights and prepared for our Ag-Tour of Kaanapali Coffee Estate in the morning.

Here’s my husband Ricky with Akina Tours Bus driver, Herman, who did a wonderful job transporting our group of nearly fifty passengers. Shelley Kekuna (above with me) is the executive director of Kaanapali Resorts. Shelley created this event along with her superb event planner Toni Rojas of Sterling Performance Company. That’s James “Kimo” Falconer on the right. It was great to meet Kimo and learn more about the coffee farm he revived and how we’re making history on Maui in Kaanapali with MauiGrown Coffee.

It’s an 80 billion dollar industry and the only commodity bigger than coffee is oil. Everyone loved the tour. Dania Katz of @KupuMaui served light wonderful refreshments (chai smoked pork, dragon fruit, pineapple with coconut sprinkles on skewers) as we sampled 100% MauiGrown Coffee. We provided gift bags filled with Kaanapali Estate Coffee, hand-made cards, coffee farm maps, Javalavalavas, and Hawaiian cards by @SoPupuka plus Edible Hawaiian Islands Magazines for each guest. I played ukulele on the drive from the farm to MauiGrown Coffee Company Store and they asked on the way back “Are you gonna pull out that ukulele again?” and I said “I sure am!” and played Island Style, and Paula Fuga’s song for the ride back to Whaler’s Village… It was so much fun.

It was wonderful to spend time near the water and the first thing I noticed about Kaanapali was the air. Breezy, beautiful afternoons, gorgeous sunsets, lovely mornings take me back to imagining Hawaiians in ancient times here on Maui. I can see why they chose Kaanapali for their Royal place. With plentiful water from four streams coming out of the West Maui Mountains, fertile valleys for taro patches, farmland to plant sweet potatoes (uala), and the most abundant fishing in the waters and streams, it was a perfect place to live.

Kaanapali is blessed with beauty.

 

Kaanapali Fresh weekend was all about the land, the chefs and farmers, the music and culture, and the coffee.

 

Call us anytime for a tour of the coffee farms or a personalized Up-Country Farm Tour.

 

~ Marilyn

 

808 283-9131
808 280-1621

 

Marilyn Jansen Lopes
http://Mauicountryfarmtours.com