Made In Maui County Festival

What a treat to attend the 2^nd annual Made in Maui County Festival in Kahului!
This festival, held at the Maui Cultural & Arts Center, involves more than 140 vendors & 16 food trucks which all must meet certain criteria to participate. As the purpose of the festival is to strengthen & diversify Maui’s economy by increasing sales & awareness of locally made products, the selection of participating vendors are based on the following criteria:
* Business is based in Maui County (islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai);
* Products have a minimum of 51% of Hawaiian value added;
* Other requirements, i.e., compatibility, desirability, marketability, uniqueness, creativity, level of competitive pricing, & product quality.
As such, talented local artists, crafters, wood workers, & culinary chefs are able to showcase their entrepreneurial products to a wide spectrum of audiences, e.g., residents, tourists, wholesalers, distributors, & retail store reps.
Some of the vendors included:
* Matsumoto Studio — creative stationery & luggage tags using their personalized Hawaiian motifs or Japanese designs inspired by the card game Hanafuda. They have a creative monthly card calendar that is perforated so that you can discard the calendar portion & use the drawing as a notecard w/​envelopes attached.
* Kanemitsu Bakery — freshly baked bread from Molokai, including the fruited ones.
* Hula Cookies — gourmet cookie mixes, ice cream sandwiches, freshly made cookies & brownies, cookie tins. They have been approached by Costco & Longs Drugs to sell their cookies.
* Upcountry Maui Favorites — specialty jams, jellies, sauces, & syrups. Their display won them the Best in Show yellow ribbon in the festival.
* Hawaii Sea Spirits — makers of the popular ocean organic vodka. Their display won them a 1^st place blue ribbon in the festival.
* Maui Crisps — thin crispy beef jerky chips. This was delicious & came in various flavors of original, spicy chili, teriyaki, & more. Eat as is or crush them for salad toppings & other creative uses. Their display won them a 2^nd place red ribbon in the festival.
* Hawaii Fudge Company — handmade fudge, caramel, & toffee of so many flavors. Their display won them a 3^rd place white ribbon in the festival.
* Hulu Nani by Leonani — beautiful handmade feather lei, kahilis, hair pieces/​picks, earrings.
* Poi by the Pound — sampling of their delicious kulolo, one of many menu offerings from this authentic Hawaiian food restaurant.
And the list goes on! There was such a wide range & variety of products: jewelry; clothing & accessories; live plants (tropicals, orchids, bonsai); koa wood products; soaps; photography services; dog treats; coffees & teas; art paintings; linen; Christmas ornaments; books; skin care; lots of food products (macaroons, fresh pineapple, decorated cupcakes, party mixes, candies, pickled veggies, cheese, popcorn, cookies, popsicles, sausages, wines); & much more! I was astounded at the wide assortment of quality products & delicious food samplings that these vendors offered all in one place!
Plus, there was continuous entertainment throughout the day at the spacious main stage. The schedule of events included talks by the participating vendors to showcase their products. They provided information on: handcrafted wooden products, how to organize your closets, demo of hold-​up messenger bags, fashion shows, chocolate recipes, cocktail demos, how to write a book, & more.
And don’t forget the food trucks, which included:
* Maui Fresh Streatery — we tried the grilled Portobello mushroom bahn mi sandwich w/​tossed greens & the «in n out» Animal fries, which were French fries topped w/​Maui Cattle Co. ground beef, caramelized Kula onions, molten cheese, & animal sauce. The two dishes were very delicious & filling!
* Mama T’s Molokai Grindz — all kinds of gourmet burgers & fries w/​varying sauces (guava bbq, teriyaki, honey mustard, house sauce, sesame glaze) & toppings (kim chee, bacon, cheese, mushrooms, grilled onion, furikake, coleslaw, pineapple). We saw this after-​the-​fact, & wished we weren’t so full to try these interesting burgers all the way from Molokai!
* Milagros Food Co. — tex mex dishes, e.g., nachos grande, chicken enchiladas, spiced beef burrito, Molokai sweet potato cheesecake, & natural fries w/​chopotle mayo.
Other interesting food trucks offered bbq steaks/​chicken/​ribs, mochi, donuts, poke, acai bowls, gourmet hot dogs, & Hawaiian & local cuisine.
The festival, patterned after the Made in HI Festival held in HNL, is presented by the Maui County Mayor’s Office of Economic Development & the Maui Chamber of Commerce & sponsored by many Maui private sponsors. The 2-​day event on 11÷6−7÷15 involves a shoppers’ preview on the 1^st day w/​$ 35 admission, & the second day w/​$ 5 admission placed in white tents on the lawn, under the building eaves, & in the various rooms.
What a delightful way to spend a Saturday shopping for authentic Maui products!