LIHUE — The Kauai County Council, per an internal memo, was garbed in pink on Wednesday when the governing body presented a certificate to organizers and sponsors of the 11th annual Harvest Festival, which takes place at Kekaha Neighborhood Center on Saturday.
“I’ll be there,” said council member Felicia Cowden. “On top of that, I’m putting up these posters on the North Shore so people there can find out about the Harvest Festival.”
The council certificate “recognizes and celebrates” the event that runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and features free keiki rides, inflatables, activities, food and beverages sold by local nonprofit organizations, and free pumpkins.
The pumpkins are grown on Kauai, said Alec Sou of Aloun Farms, who added that Aloun Farms has moved about 65 percent of its agricultural operations to Kauai.
Stephanie Iona, of the Kekaha Agricultural Association, said the pumpkins were shared with Maui residents during last year when the Valley Isle was recovering from the tragic wildfires. Additionally, the pumpkins are being shared by other shopping centers, the Kauai Christian Academy for its community Fall Festival, swap meets and more.
The certificate states “what started in 2014 as an event to thank the west side community has turned into an annual event that thousands look forward to. The festival has grown from 1,500 attendees to approximately 8,000, annually.”
Local nonprofits manage food booths at the Harvest Festival to raise money for their organizations by selling a variety of ono food.
That includes Hawaiian plate by the Lihue Pop Warner, teri chicken sandwich and chicken salady by the Westside Christian, chiken hekka by the Ruff Ryderz softball team, flying saucers by the Hanapepe Pop Warner, shave ice by the Rotary Club of West Kauai, ice cream, popcorn, and floats by the Purple Palooza, the Corteva agriscience Relay for Life team benefiting the American Cancer Society, beverages by WesCon, spam musubi, malasadas, and pronto pups for the West Kauai Methodist Church and refreshers benefiting Ke Kula O Niihau.
Educational tent offerings include Osborne Books, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation Kauai Region, Hawaii Foodbank Kauai, Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project, Garden Island Junior Dragsters, Kauai Fire Department, Boys & Girls Club, Headstar and Kauai United Way.
Kamehameha Schools will sport its own tent, and attendees can participate in an Alaska Airlines drawing.
The celebration of the Harvest Festival is also overlapped with the promotion of agriculture sustainability, agrotourism, food insecurity and more.
