I wish I were Irish

Dress in green to support local greens this St. Patrick’s Day at Anaina Hou’s Porter Pavilion in Kilauea on Saturday from 5:30 p.m.

It’s an evening of dancing to live Irish music, locally made corned beef and cabbage and games — an Irish supper in support of the Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay and Kilauea Community Agriculture Center.

Tuesday afternoon, members of the Rotary Club were posting banners and KCAC’s Executive Director Yoshito L’Hote was gearing up for a chef to come visit the community farm.

“He’s going to look at all the different things he’s going to be able to use,” L’Hote said. “He’s said he wants cabbage and carrots. We have lots of lettuce he can use.”

Located on the right side of Kilauea Road on the way to the lighthouse, KCAC is where volunteers meet weekly to lend a hand growing 37 different crops — a total of 30,000 pounds of produce annually, distributed to schools, select restaurants and members through their Community Supported Agriculture program.

Community members can also buy into the CSA program and receive weekly boxes of produce. In turn they support the farm and the overall goal of increasing local food production.

L’Hote says the farm is producing enough to fill 50 boxes every week, and they’re selling about 40 each week.

“We still have room,” L’Hote said.

KCAC hosts field trips and internships, and it gives people a chance to get their hands in the dirt and learn new skills. The whole project is aimed at getting others involved in raising their own food.

The St. Patrick’s Day extravaganza at Anaina Hou is another step in that cycle.

“It should always be like that,” L’Hote said.

Over at Anaina Hou, Operations Director Collin Darrell said that full circle of involvement is one of the reasons they’re looking forward to hosting the Irish supper.

“We’re supporting the farm and are able to utilize local ingredients to raise funds,” Darrell said. “The food is going to be cooked from scratch using local beef and products from the ag park.”

Along with dancing and dinner, green beer and other games, Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay’s President Ben Gillikin said there’s a chance for donors to win a Kauai vacation package.

A donation to the club of $30 or more gets you a ticket number for the drawing. The grand prize is drawn on Sunday, and the winner gets a luxury vacation to Kauai including airfare, hotel, rental car and dining.

At the Irish supper event itself, Gillikin said the goal is to draw a crowd of at least 150 and generate awareness for both Anaina Hou and KCAC.

Tickets are $50, and can be purchased at irishsupperkilauea.com, or at the door.

More info: 346-7095

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Jessica Else, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or jelse@thegardenisland.com.