Kress Street transformed with murals

“Are you setting up your own stores?”

That was the question posed by the almost steady stream of spectators making their way along Kress Street to Hamura Saimin Friday while the three Mo‘olelo Murals artists worked on their storefront panels on the former Kaua‘i Realty building.

“No” was the common reply from the site where the first Downtown Lihu‘e Night Market will take place on Aug. 14 from 4 to 8 p.m. “We have permission from the building’s owner to do these storefronts as one of our projects,” the muralists said.

The leadership of the Downtown Lihu‘e Night Market is soliciting vendors to participate in the unique marketplace that is scheduled to take place on the second Saturday of each month through December, centered around Kress Street. The event is sponsored in part by the Rice Street Business Association.

“That reminds me,” said Holly Ka‘iakapu, one of the three Mo‘olelo Murals. “We’ll be here as Mo‘olelo Murals, but we have to register as individual vendors so we can be close to each other.”

Vendor inquiries can be done by visiting downtownlihue.com and clicking on the appropriate button.

“There’re going to be all kinds of stuff,” said Bethany Coma, the second of the three artists. “Holly does clothing that was available through the Hanapepe Friday Night Art Walk. I paint stuff, and Bree Blake, the third artist, is not even going to be here because she has to attend a wedding…miss out!”

“The market people have a section set up for food trucks, baked goods and fresh produce. There’ll be a section with unique handmade gifts and locally-created crafts. And, there’s going to be live entertainment. It’s definitely a different view of Kress Street,” said Koma.

The artists are excited because they already received their shipment of stickers that depict the various projects worked on since the pandemic gave birth to the group of young artists.

“We’re going to have them available for sale,” Coma said. “But we’re going to work on our new canvas that will be created by people coming to the night market.”

Utilizing the familiar dart-and-balloon games found at community events like bon dances and the farm fair, the canvas will be set up under the board containing balloons. Game participants pop the balloons — each one containing different colored paints — and the resulting drips will form the base of the new canvas.

The Kress Street Downtown Lihu‘e Night Markets are scheduled for Aug. 14, Sept. 11, Oct. 9, Nov. 13, and Dec. 11, all from 4 to 8 p.m.

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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.