Hamakua Harvest’s Annual Farm Festival is 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday in Honokaa.
The event celebrates local agriculture and food producers, Hawaiian culture, and regional efforts to advance sustainability. The festivities will be held at the Hamakua Harvest site at the intersection of Mamane Street and Mamalahoa Highway.
The festival features 40 plus vendors, community groups and exhibits, a silent auction and a cooking contest featuring locally grown or produced food with veteran local food columnist, Sonia R. Martinez, who will oversee cooking contests in three categories – appetizer, entree and dessert – based on best use of locally sourced ingredients, taste, appearance and originality.
There will also be live entertainment. At 8 a.m. Lanakila Mangauil will conduct the opening pule followed by James Lowe with original, contemporary and classic rock tunes from 8:30-10 and Hula by the Hawaiian Cultural Center of Hamakua from 10:15-10:45. From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. is the Rachael Scott Band playing contemporary, rock and folk music followed by Don May with a soulful mix of blues, country and American from 12:45-2 p.m. Closing out the day, from 2:30-4 p.m. is The Big Rock Band offering 1960s through the 1980s classics, jazz and Latin.
Educational presentations include: making goat cheese with Dick Threlfall, founder of the Hawaii Island Goat Dairy, at 9 a.m.; designing farmscapes for climate change with Zach Mermel of Ola Design Group at 10 a.m.; Grafting Fruit Trees with Ty MacDonald, UH-CTAHR, at 11 a.m.; nutritional benefits of chocolate with Jeanne Teleiea, wellness coach and educator, at noon; Fruit of the future with Brian Lievens, president, West Hawaii Chapter of the Hawai’i Tropical Fruit Growers Association at 1 p.m.; ulu from tree to table with Max Bowman, owner/manager of Anoano Farms at 2 p.m. and lastly, using mulch for pest control and yield increase with Marisol Quintanilla, Ph.D. sustainable agriculture and soil health UH-CTAHR, AT 3 P.M.
Chef Stephen Rouelle of vegan/vegetarian/raw restaurant “Under the Bodhi Tree” will offer a farm-0fresh cooking demonstration during the afternoon.
For the keiki, the Hiccup Circus will be on hand for several hours with acrobatics, face painting, juggling and balloon sculpting. Scavenger hunts, relay races and interactive games will also take place throughout the day.
The festival will offer hourly shuttle bus service to the Hawaii Saddle Club Scholarship Rodeo, a 60-year community tradition that takes place 1 mile away and commences at noon. Bus service will operate from 12-3 p.m.
Info: info@hamakuaharvest.org, 640-2506.