Onions draw a crowd

Ursuline Munar of Kekaha said she never saw a pig eat an onion before and was glad she saw the people at the sweet onion festival on Saturday at Hofgaard Park in Waimea.

There was no way people could not notice as Joanne Parongao had her dancers performing curbside of Kaumualii Highway with Kawehi Martin doing vocals and Jordan Parongao on guitar and ukulele at the festival where people who took advantage of the free onion seedling giveaways could bring the results of their growing efforts for judging.

Basilio “Bunga” Fuertes said in addition to the freshly harvested sweet onions, and pickled onion, there were pickled mango, and other goodies available for purchase as a fundraiser for the Waimea Senior Center.

A suckling pig for the volunteers silently rotated over a bed of coals, and a donated piglet by Val Kaneshiro of the Kaneshiro Hog Farm attracted more people for the Guess the Weight contest.

“It’s all for a good cause,” said Gregory Harding, agriculture class instructor for Waimea High School.