The pillbox mural near Ho'okipa recently got updated, around Earth Day... "One Love" is gone and the stop Kony campaign is back.
The pillbox near Ho'okipa is a fascinating venue for mural artists or just anyone who has something to share, and has enough paint. I imagine that people climb over the fence and do stealth painting at night? In broad daylight? Or maybe in the wee early morning hours? Anyhow, this structure is frequently repainted, so keep your eyes open anytime you drive along the Hana Highway between Ho'okipa and Haiku.
Even in Kihei, I recently spotted this Kony poster.
I couldn't resist writing a few thoughts about the Kupu Maui feast at Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm this past Saturday. The feast looked sumptuous and the location is exquisite. I think I am suffering from foodie envy.
Foodie envy is when there are so many yummy foodie events on Maui that there's no way to possibly go to all of them, especially when they are scheduled at the same time. Foodie envy is when there are great new restaurants, events, festivals celebrating local produce, potlucks, and incredible farm and school garden tours. Foodie envy has to do with living vicariously and wanting to experience all the flavors of Maui. It's like stepping off the airplane for the first time to Maui and wanting to sample every activity from every colorful brochure dangling off the airplane rack. Trouble is, if you try to do everything, you wind up exhausted and needing a real vacation.
Kupu Maui is a new endeavor, launching a series of Third Saturday feasts at different farms and scenic venues around Maui. It sounds fantastic. Mahalo to Erik Blair for making a great video! I love it when other people take videos.
In true foodie envy spirit, 1. I didn't even go to the inaugural feast at Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm, but know several people who attended and got to experience the event vicariously through their videos and pictures. Check out a great post on Kupu Maui by Maui Shop Girl. Her pictures make everything look so ONO (yummy).
2. The Kupu Maui feast was also the same day as the East Maui Taro Festival, another major foodie event.
How many potlucks and food events are there on Maui?
Can anyone count them?
Here's a short list of some monthly, or regularly scheduled, foodie events:
Maui Farmer's Union has an amazing potluck the 4th Tuesday night of each month in Pukalani. Remember, these are farmers and gardeners, so they are also very good cooks. The potluck itself often features more unusual Maui produce like jabocati fruits or different varieties of taro (most that you haven't seen before), chayote, or breadfruit. The potluck itself is free if you bring a dish to share - otherwise it's $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Also, bring your own dish and cutlery to help make it easier on the clean up crew.
Slow Food Maui has a foodie Taste Education event the 4th Wednesday of each month in Kahului at the Maui Culinary Academy. The event is $15 for members, and $20 for nonmembers.
Whole Foods Market frequently has food education events and tastings, like their current Celebrity Chef series running the last Monday of the month through June. (Ok, that's the 3rd food event at the end of the month - why is that?)
Down to Earth vegetarian health food store in Kahului is now offering free cooking classes every Tuesday night at 5:30 pm.
Grow Some Good is a school garden project based in South Kihei, and they are working with local chefs to create garden to table events.
Temple of Peace has a darshan (chanting) and vegetarian potluck Tuesday nights in Haiku. On Sundays, after their church service, they have another potluck. These are free to the public.
SacredEarth Assembly in Haiku also hosts various community events and festivals. Some of them are free and some of them are by donation. Often a vegetarian potluck is part of the festivities.
Upcountry Farm Tours is all about food too - although it's a full day farm tour rather than an event you'd go to each month (although you'd certainly be welcome to go every month).
Maui Happy Hour Club is a social group open to newcomers, and holds happy hours at different restaurants and bars around the island. While not truly a foodie event, sometimes there is really good food available - it just depends where the group is meeting. Sometimes, it's just about the beer.
I think there should be a guide who organizes a monthly foodie calendar for the rest of us!
This list does not even include festivals or privately held potlucks, such as snorkeling groups or private film screenings... so the longer you are on Maui, the more food events there are. The last couple of years have seen an EXPLOSION of food related events... They just keep growing, kind of like a garden that gets plenty of rain and sunshine. If you are not the only one suffering from foodie envy, or wanting to taste everything wherever it is, well, you're in the right place.
Evan Ryan gave a great talk on breadfruit last month at the Maui Farmer's Union. The video below is pretty amateur and shaky, but the information is worthwhile.
Some highlights from Evan's talk:
A single ulu (Hawaiian for breadfruit) tree can last decades and can produce 100-200
fruits/year up to 700/fruits a year (the right variety growing in the right
environment).
An average ulu is 3-4 pounds or up to 13 pounds.
Can eat it green, hard and starchy like a potato. Cook and season
it like a potato.
Can eat it soft and mushy, and it’s sweet and custardy.
Can put it whole into a fire and roast it.
KahanuGardens has about 120
varieties. There used to be 300+ varieties in the world. No one really knows
how many there were.
Varieties are incredibly different in texture, taste, etc.
To grow breadfruit, find a tree that you like, whose
breadfruit that you’ve eaten.
The main way is to get a root cutting. Often at the base of
a breadfruit, there is a little keiki tree. Can pot it and get its root
established and then plant in the ground. Or get 6-8 inches of root and plant
in a pot.
There are some nurseries Evan mentions in the video. Evan says he doesn’t want to name specific
varieties, because he wants to encourage diversity.
The East Maui Taro Festival also will have information by KahanuGardens.
To get fruit, 3-8 years from an air-layered or root cutting OR 10+ years from a tree grown by seed
Breadfruit is high in nutrients and can dig deep in the
soil.
Breadfruit is also used for construction materials:
buildings, canoes.
Does well in an agroforestry environment, with other trees.
Not the same as a breadnut, which is full of seeds.
Each breadfruit is a result of 1500+ flowers.
ALSO, the Farmer's Union is meeting again tomorrow night in Pukalani. Potluck is free if you bring a dish to share. Please bring plate and cutlery to minimize cleanup.
Here's the agenda:
Tavares Center Pool Room -Pukalani Tuesday
April 24th 6-9pm Doors open now at 5:30pm Dinner now at 6:00 pm, meeting
begins at 7pm sharp!
LocaVore Potluck: Come and share the Maui
abundance of what you prepare and grow!!! Bring a dish OR Dinner is $5 for
Members, $10 for Non Members. Sign up as a member and dinner is on
us!
Schedule:
6:00pm-7:00pm LocaVore Potluck
6:50pm-7:00pm Evening Announcements ~ Vincent Mina
7:00pm-7:10pm Chefs Corner ~ Jana McMahon-Kahanu Aina Greens
7:10pm-7:20pm Farmers Almanac ~ Harriette
Witt
7:20pm-7:30pm Produce Scoop ~Ryan
Eareheart-Mango Madness 7:30pm-8:00pm Lehua Vanderville- MFU "You are the
event"8:00pm-8:10pm Bill
Greenleaf-Annual meeting 8:10pm-8:30pm Seth Raabe- Our experience
culturing and using IMO 8:30pm- 9pm
Networking
Produce
Swap: Lets make it abundant!!! Bring your home grown farm/garden
produce, seeds or plant starts to share and swap with others. Place it on the
table in the back when you arrive.
This email is a public service announcement - from emails circulated by Mandala Ethnic Arts in Pa'ia, which has been organizing this year's Earth Day and many previous Earth Day celebrations. Text and photo has been copied and pasted from their announcement.
Come out on
Sunday! Let's co-create the most beautiful Maui Earth Day Festival
ever!
Many of us cherish our
memories of last year's Festival with so much of our community coming together
in support of the vision for a life lived sustainably. How inspiring, nourishing
and contagious it is when many of us come together in the spirit of caring for
our mother Earth and one another in a co-creative, loving and joyful way.
This year again many community
members will be sharing their passion for a sustainable future by supporting
organizations, projects and endeavors to protect and restore our natural
resources.
At the magical venue of
Ke'Opuolani Park many talented friends will be sharing their creative
contributions to the community in the form of live music, dance, art, delicious
healthy food and by sharing pertinent information. There will be more Keiki fun
than ever including Pony rides, face painting, clowns and more. Bring your
keiki, they are free.
The Earth Day Festival is
created by volunteers. We would love you on the team. Regardless if you want to
offer two, three or more hours on the day before, the day of or the day after,
we are grateful for any additional help! The more helping hands we have, the
more fun it is. Lisa is looking forward to finding the perfect spot for you.
Volunteers are still needed - contact www.mauiearthday.org.
With Love and Aloha Bruce
& Satya Douglas Directors of the Maui Earth Day Festival
9:45
Opening
Ceremony-Pua-Anthony-Alalani
10:00
Anthony Natividad
10:45
MaBliss & Spirit
Tribe
11:45
Hula Alapai L
Maluuluolele
11:00
Sundance
11:35
Exergy 35 Chinese Dance
11:45
Crazy Fingers
12:15
Tahitian Zumba
12:30
Diane Patterson
1:00
Dreaming Bear
1:15
Trouble Makers
2:00
Free Radicals Project
2:45
Divino & Friends
3:30
Youssoupha
Sidibe & Charles Neville (of Neville Brothers)
