Kawena Easley, daughter of Tiare Easley and Michael Hartman, and 12 other candidates competed in the Little and Teen Miss Kona Coffee Scholarship Competition; three of them being her sisters.
The program was held Nov. 6 at Aloha Theatre as part of the 51st Kona Coffee Cultural Festival. With four divisions in four phases of competition including, private interview, coffee picking outfits/teen fitness, talent and evening gown with a platform related onstage question, four 2023 titleholders were selected: Mini Miss Kona Coffee, Maia Kealoa, age 5; Little Miss Kona Coffee, Kawena Easley, age 9; Young Miss Kona Coffee, Ariani Aguilar, age 10; and Teen Miss Kona Coffee, Taira Aoki,14. Taira will continue her scholarship in the Miss Hawaii Outstanding Teen in June of next year.
Easley’s Tahitian talent was mesmerizing and scored a perfect 10. A day after her crowning, she and her family flew to Brazil for a vacation and family visit; then to Papeete, Tahiti, where Easley competed again, along with two other dancers from Kona’s Te Ea O Te Turama in Kailua Kona, under the direction of Kumu Maile Tavares, in the Ori Tahiti Nui 2022.
There were 100 competitors in Easley’s age division of 9- to 11 year olds from around the world and Easley made it to the final round of top 20. Even if she did not move up any higher thereafter, her friend Hunnay Demello, won first place in the same age division.
Easley is very proud of her accomplishments and learned a lot of new dancing and costume techniques while in Tahiti. She was able to dance with a few schools even though she didn’t speak any French. She also had fun taking a boat to Moorea and swimming with the sharks and stingrays.
You can find Easley with her Little Miss sisters in appearances in the community including the 36th annual Kailua-Kona Community Christmas Parade this evening.