After 18 years, the Kapaa Business Association’s annual Coconut Festival at Kapaa Beach Park is still going strong.
And this year’s celebration, scheduled to kick off on Saturday, is set to be even better.
Kapaa Business Association Event Coordinator Tricia Yamashita said the main highlights of the two-day event are performances from well-known Hawaiian music group Kalapana and Kauai native Shar Carillo.
“We’re hoping that this year’s headliner, Kalapana and Shar Carillo, will be a big draw so that people will be able to enjoy their Saturday and Sunday evening with us,” said Yamashita “Of course, Coconut Festival is always a great event for locals and visitors to have the opportunity to interact and get an experience of a very unique Kauai.”
Carillo, an Anahola native and Kapaa High School alumna, was a finalist for two Na Hoku Hanohano awards in 2013 for female vocalist of the year and most promising artist of the year. She will perform at the Coconut Festival beginning at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Kalapana, a Hawaiian music group based on Oahu, won several Nani Awards during the early to mid-1970s before the Na Hoku Hanohano Award was created in 1978. The four-man group will perform at the Coconut Festival beginning at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
A mainstay at nearly every Coconut Festival, Kap Te‘o-Tafiti from the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu, will also conduct cultural demonstrations on both days of the festival, including fire dancing and coconut tree climbing. He will be featured at the festival’s cultural stage at 10:30 a.m. and on the nearby main stage at 12:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The festival will also feature nearly 80 local craft vendors and food demonstrations on both days from several chefs, including Chef de Cuisine Sean Smull from Oasis on the Beach in Waipouli, Sous Chef Adam Phelps from Hukilau Lanai in Waipouli and Executive Pastry Chef Heather Campbell from The St. Regis Princeville Resort.
A new addition to the festival, which has 200 volunteers, is an outdoor butterfly garden provided by Neill Sams, owner of Orchid Alley Kauai.
Admission tickets are $5 for adults and free for children who are 12 years old or younger.
Proceeds support the Kapaa Business Association’s focus on Old Kapaa Town — and the business community — and supporting the larger community as whole. Any money raised also goes toward community projects for restoration efforts in Kapaa and Old Kapaa Town that is focused on allowing Old Kapaa Town to have its charm.
For more information, visit the Kapaa Business Association website at www.kbakauai.org or call Yamashita at 652-4988.
