HANAPEPE — There were home runs. There were touchdowns. There were goals scored, and a whole lot more over the weekend at Hanapepe’s Biggest Little Carnival that wrapped up Sunday at the Hanapepe Stadium complex.
“Pop Warner football is free today,” said Alden Pablo of the Hanapepe Pop Warner Association. “Just go on in and enjoy the games.”
The Hanapepe Colts association joined forces with Ryan Lee of the Hanapepe Youth Baseball Association, resulting in the two-day event that offered food, including shave ice, entertainment, a craft tent and more.
The Hanapepe Youth Baseball Association hosted the third annual T-ball Tournament of Champions that attracted teams from across the island. The tournament started at the Waimea Athletic Field and was inaugurated because there were no events for T-ball players.
Prize giveaways included gifts from the variety of vendors in the craft tent, where mayoral candidate Derek Kawakami was able to find a pair of boots a day after he needed them — for riding horeseback in the Veterans Day Parade.
Kawakami was joined by mayoral race opponent Mel Rapozo as well as Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., who had the honor of pulling prize winners.
“This is a really good event,” Carvalho said, congratulating Val Rita on earning a Brick Oven Pizza prize. “To get two or three sports organizations working together to put on such a great family event is great. Congratulations to Alden, Ryan and all the volunteers who worked hard to put this on for the Westside community.”
Rides and carnival games were presented by various Kauai vendors, including Fun and Kwazy Rides, which had its popular bungee attraction and wall on hand for a steady stream of customers seeking activity between T-ball or Pop Warner football games.
“And that’s not all,” one parent spectator said. “Saturday, we had soccer games going in the field, too.”
Hanapepe’s Bggest Little Carnival was sponsored by the County of Kauai, Family and Friends of Agriculture, Gather Federal Credit Union, Wong’s Restaurant, Garden Isle Disposal, Get Nutz HI, Westside Pharmacy, Kalaheo Pharmacy, Henkel Electric, Pacific Tile, Lace It Up Kauai, Pau Hana T’s, Da Booze Shop, and others.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
