THE GOOD

• Location! Perfect for outdoor photo shoots and workshops. The beaches here are amazing and perfect for sunsets.  you can’t ask for a better area to shoot at.
• Warm, Strong Community. This is different from any other photography convention we’ve been to.  It’s not as huge as some of the mainland conventions, which brings people together more to meet and learn from each other.  These things are fantastic for networking and learning from other professionals and enthusiasts. It’s a less intimidating environment allowing everyone time to speak to the pros and mingle.
• Off-site Workshops. There are plenty of opportunities to shoot with the expert speakers away from the hotel.  There’s a trip to Haleakala Crater for sunrise, doors-off helicopter rides, and much more.
• Studio Lighting. For a few hours they set up studio lighting for anyone to use.  They also had some models there to give everyone a chance to shoot.
• Contests and Prizes. Each year there are multiple contests for photos taken during the week of the festival.  Awards are given on the last day and prizes are exceptional.  Some prizes this year included: Wacom Tablets, CS5 Photoshop, camera backpacks, and many more.  See some of last year’s best photos.
• Student Scholarships. We love that the Maui Photo Festival sponsors aspiring photographers from local high schools.  These kids are truly gifted and have a bright future in photo.
• Magazine Staff. We liked that staff from popular magazines came and spoke to us about how to submit photos to their magazines and what they’re looking for.  People from The Knot and from Maui No Ka Oi Magazine came and spoke.
• Live Models. Beautiful models are brought in to allow us opportunities to hone our craft.  There was studio shoots, outdoor shoots, hula dancers, bikini models shoots, etc…
• Great Speakers and Experts from all Over. World renowned experts and local legends include:

Jim DiVitale – I’m in awe of this man.  Unfortunately, most of the teachers I’ve had over the years for any technical matter offer too slow a pace.  Jim, on the otherhand, moves at times too fast.  He’s perpetually on a serious caffeine high and blows through material.  He’s incredible.  I’ve tried to go to all of his workshops the last 2 years, and I gain so much from each one.  he is a Photoshop wizard.

Randy Jay Braun – Randy is a local artist that is gifted in bringing the culture of Hawaii to the masses through beautiful images.  He’s proven to be one of the more successful photographer artists in Hawaii, and just happens to be one of the nicest guys you’ll meet.

Some of the Other Speakers include: Jim Tierney, Michael Sweet, Douglas Peebles, Judy Host, Stacy Pearsal, Andy Dunaway, Eddie Tap, Jack Reznicki, Randy Hufford, Lou Freeman, Lewis Carlyle, Rebecca Crumley, Frederick Van Johnson, and Mike Sidney.

Our Suggestions

• The Rooms are Too Cold. Air conditioning needs to be cut down a bit. This is an easy fix that I think they can have set up better next year.  Bring a sweatshirt just in case though.
• Parking. Many times we’ve gotten lucky, but the Hyatt isn’t great for parking.  If you get there too late, you’ll have to valet.  It’s $18 to valet, but you can get it validated if you eat at one of the restaurants.  Umalu is reasonable and good, but the new restaurant Japengo is outrageously expensive.
• Offer More Broad Classes, other than Photo: It would be nice if we could have some classes on business, marketing, branding, advertising, website design, networking, etc… I know that’s kind of a lot, but if there was time and an extra room, it’d be nice to offer some of these workshops.
• Mixers to Mingle. It would be great to have a different local restaurant/bar help sponsor a different night for every night of the fest.  This would be a great way for our photographers to get to know eachother away from the classrooms and help build lasting relationships in an even more casual setting. Sponsor host restaurant/bars could offer 1 free drink to each paid attendee and all other drinks are cash bar.  I’m sure plenty of locations would be interested in the exposure if Maui Photo Festival were to add some advertising for them.
• Breakout Sessions. We’d love to see a few hours each day dedicated to sign up sessions to have pros interact one on one with attendees.  Photoshop or shooting, it’d be nice to have a few hours where our experts stick around a classroom and meet with each person to discuss their questions one on one.  Not sure if this is possible, but it’d be cool.

Learn more at the Maui Photo Festival.

We thought, considering Pepper’s recent success with their Volcanic Rock Tour, we’d revisit the past with some photos we took when the boys played at our little rat-hole pad at the beach on 42nd Street in Newport Beach, CA.  We think the show was in 1999, but that has yet to be confirmed (college dates and times are always a little blurry.)  They played an incredible show to the delight of us poor surf bums and the neighborhood rejoiced.

Our cancerous, toxic little pad on the corner of 42nd was barely big enough to fit the band (let alone any audience.)  We moved all of our furniture into the garage and a select few of us packed into the kitchen to watch the show.  The rest of us squeezed on the patio outside to listen.

It began raining, but no one seemed to care.  All of our neighbors on the street began migrating towards the good tunes.  Next thing you know, we had a load of people creating a block party in the rain.  EPIC ALL TIME EVENT.

We were a little worried that the boys would be bummed on the tiny venue and the crazy rainy conditions.  But, luck would have it that they we’re pumped on everything.  They said that the acoustics were incredible, and they’d consider recording at our pad (must have been the asbestos and cardboard walls.)

We were lucky that our little double-wide didn’t crumble under the weight and powerful sounds.  A cop came after a few hours and told us we needed to turn down the music.  I replied, “No worries, Officer Schaumburg.” (Unfortunately we knew all the cops very well.)  “They’d just finished their set anyways.”  Astonished on how we managed to fit them in there, he replied, “You mean you’ve got a band in there, Chris?”

All in all, it was an incredible experience, and we’re glad we got them early on enough to enjoy them before they became huge.  Thanks, Baldy, for arranging everything.  We’re sorry for treating you like crap for so many years, but you kind of deserved it (and still do, daddy.  Haha!)

Pepper Today

Today, Kona’s little rock-trio is one of the biggest bands around.  Guitarist and vocalist, Kaleo Wassman, leads the charge with his unique style and outgoing stage performances.  Bassist and vocalist, Bret Bollinger, is a multi-talented artist that not only sings and jams with just as much stage presence as Kalea and Yesod, he also writes music for some of the biggest names in the music industry.  Yesod Williams, drummer, is rocking as hard as ever and turns out to be a damned good pilot.  Though after having watched many performances with him nearly destroying the drums, I’d be a little fearful of being his passenger.

Looking forward to your next show in Maui.  The last one we went to ROCKED!  If you ever feel like doing another tiny venue, we’ll get Baldy and Ethan out here and have a reunion on Maui.

by Chris Norberg

If you want to see more about Maui weddings, go to the Maui Information Guide where there’s a long list of favorite vendors as well as tips for your wedding.  Some of the Maui wedding vendors we’ve listed specialize in catering, photography, transportation, planning, flowers, and even fire dancing.  Check them out!

See more Maui wedding photography by Natalie Brown Photography.

Last night Sublime played at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center (MACC) with their new lead guitar and singer Rome Ramirez.  Rome made for an excellent replacement for the deceased Bradley Nowell.

Sublime, now “Sublime with Rome”, played most of our favorite classic Sublime songs along with a few new ones.  We think that they made a great move in doing this.  Appeasing the fan base is the only way for them to move towards newer material, especially considering how Bradley is now considered a legend.

We really enjoyed the show.  I’m sure the veteran members of Sublime enjoyed the crowd, and Rome seemed very pleased with his first trip to Hawaii.  Read about more Maui Events.

You can learn more about Chef Chris at Teppanyaki Maui.

This year at the Maui Photo Festival, some of the best photographers on the island joined up to enjoy lectures, hands-on sessions, and connect with the photography community.  We went to many of the classes and lectures and found most of them extremely helpful.  Some classes were enormously helpful in learning tips and tricks about Photoshop and Lightroom from masters.  Others were inspirational and good for business.

Throughout the event, we enjoyed photographing scenarios that the festival had set up for us. For example, they had portrait set ups, wedding set ups, and hula dancing shoots.  This allowed attendees a chance to shoot with their peers as well as master photography speakers.  It was a lot of fun and extremely educational.

At the end of the event, participants had an opportunity to submit their photos taken at the event to a contest.  This year’s event brought hundreds of photographers and around 1,000 submitted contest photos.  Among the awards given, Natalie Brown was able to take the most prestigious of them.  She won both the Best Hula Photograph Award as well as the Best Overall Photograph Award.  She was kind enough to share some of the award winning photos on this post.  Mahalo Natalie and congratulations!  These images are truly fantastic and really give our readers a unique view of Maui, Hawaii.

To see more of Natalie’s photos from the festival, visit Maui Hawaii Photography.

COMMENTS:

Congratulations Natalie! And congratulations to all the participants and organizers. Well done! Liza

This year’s Maui Film Festival had the regular parties with many new faces.  The Starry Night Moondance party hosted by Tommy Bahama’s Wailea was a hit!  The dance floor was moving like never before.  Most of the photos on this page were taken at this event.

Another great night event was the Taste of Chocolate at the Four Seasons next to Duo.  Here guests enjoyed countless chocolate treats while sipping drinks and mingling.

The Taste of Wailea was held again above the Celestial Cinema on the golf course.  All of the best Maui restaurants showed up to make their signature dishes.  Southern also provided excellent wines for pairing.

A new event this year was held at the Wailea Resort (formerly known as Diamonds.)  This involved a pool side fashion show with club music and great drinks.  We hope this is offered again next year.

Celebrities such as Zac Efron, and the beautiful Malin Akerman (pictured below at the taste of Wailea) enjoyed the parties and promoted their movies.

Local celebrities also found their way to the parties such as Sherri Van and Lucas Woodford causing a veritable frenzy among young Maui fans.

As always, the events surrounding the Maui Film Festival are only secondary to how great the movie experience is.  Watching films under the stars on a Maui golf course with friends and family can not be compared to any screening at any other film festival.

Thanks for joining us!  We’ll post again about the events next year!

Aloha!

JUST GO WITH IT with Brooklyn Decker between Jennifer Aniston & Adam Sandler

On the Set with Maui’s Own Megan Edgar:

I started off a nervous wreck. I bought dresses. I bought make-up. I bought shoes. I curled my hair. I panicked. I felt sick. I wanted to back out. I couldn’t wait to start. All of a sudden it was 5 PM on March 23rd and everything was happening whether I was ready or not. Hair styled, make-up adjusted, wardrobe checked, and then I was whisked off to the set.

What a set it was; the most beautiful luau I’ve ever seen. Smoking volcanoes, Chinese lanterns, Hawaiian gods carved into totem poles, fire dancers, hula, pulled pork and poi. Brilliant stadium lights dimmed by huge white cloths. Small, bright lights angled just so with red, blue, and yellow filters. Cameras on wheels. Cameras on cranes. Cameras on tripods. Paparazzi cameras peeking out from behind the bushes. Cameras and lights and fire dancers. I was mesmerized and we hadn’t even started.

The crew lined us up and started pulling people out of the crowd of extras. I wasn’t picked. And I wasn’t picked again.  I felt like I was in PE and no on wanted me on their team. I wasn’t going to be in the movie after all. They made a big mistake.

Then suddenly, miraculously, I was “the girl in the pink dress” and they seated me at a table with eight other people. The director introduced himself and told us to clap for the fire dancers, eat our food, and act like we were thoroughly enjoying our evening. Tough.

Words like reset, background, action, and cut became a regular part of my vocabulary and I knew exactly what to do when each one was yelled out. Make-up came by to “take off the shine.” Hair came by because I was “right in the shot.” Wardrobe took my picture so I would look exactly the same if they needed to reshoot the next day. I couldn’t believe my luck. I was “in the shot.”  I couldn’t look up from my plate without staring at Jennifer Aniston. I could have leaned over and touched Adam Sandler. I felt beautiful and important. I was being paid to have fun. How was this even possible?

Three weeks prior to my first night shooting I needed to feed some fish. My school has a fish tank and my friend Greg and I went in on a Sunday to take care of its inhabitants. When we got to school hundreds of people were lined up to get in the door. We had no idea why they were there so we just walked to the front and went inside. Before we knew it we’d filled out a form, got a number (I was lucky 999), and had our pictures taken.  3,000 people were in line that day and we scooted right by without a wait. Fate? Good thing the fish were hungry.

After our first night on set with cameras in our faces, Greg and I (we were cast as a couple) were placed in “deep background” and spent all our time walking back and forth from one set place to a second set place.  We weren’t right in the shot, but we were lucky enough to have the director use us to reset the scene.  The leads would start their dialogue based on our position, and it made us feel like we were still in the movie even though the cameras were far away.  And we could actually talk, which was a nice change from the first evening of pantomiming conversation because we were so close to the microphones.

Filming Just Go With It was amazing. I’ve never seen so many people doing so many different jobs all at the same time only to have it all come together just as the cameras start to roll.  Lighting would move huge lamps and screens at a moments notice.  Cameras would swing by on booms and roll through peoples and tables.  Make-up artists, hair stylists, wardrobe crew, and sound people would zip past one another, all on a separate mission that ended with a single goal.  Watching people work together like that was inspiring.

Then add the leads. Jennifer Aniston really is beautiful. Nicole Kidman really is elegant and lithe. Brooklyn Decker is gorgeous!  Dave Matthews can act!  Adam Sandler is very funny. (You try not to laugh when you can hear all of Adam and Nick Swardson‘s dialogue as they ad-lib and improvise their way through the 20th take of a scene. Even Jenn couldn’t hold it in.)

Movie making is fun. And the paparazzi love you even if you’re not famous!

Megan Edgar

COMMENTS:

With all the gloom and doom about tourism being slow, real estate being down, and other depressing non-productive talk going on in Hawaii, it’s nice to hear something positive. Hawaii is in better shape than any other state when it comes to the attractive appeal of shooting film. We have great tax breaks and the setting can’t be beat. Why aren’t we all working towards bringing more of the film industry to the islands? It’s a win win in every scenario!

In Hawaii we have very few major industries. When the economy slumps, it’s dangerous to have all of our eggs in 1 or 2 baskets. I like the idea of promoting film making and building a future for Hawaii that is diverse in revenue streams. Maybe then we can concentrate on building up our school system and developing more competitive children.

The day began with a keiki parade and Eco-Day Conference for the kids.  Throughout the day visitors enjoyed arts and crafts booths, local restaurant food, live music, and plenty of jumping houses for the kids.  Tonight “Laugh @ Da Park” will commence under a large tent where locally farmed food will be served with live jazz from the Fulton Tashombe Quartet and a comedy show to top it off.

This marks the 30th year of this fun festival.  If you get a chance to go tomorrow, you won’t be disappointed.  Make sure to wear sunblock and maybe even bring a chair.  Scripts can be purchased for food and drinks (no alcohol).  Vendors selling crafts accept cash.

MAUI WHALE WATCHING

If you plan on doing a whale watch in Maui, check out this comprehensive list of Maui Whale Watch Tours. There are many boats leaving from Lahaina Harbor, Maalaea Harbor, Kihei Boat Ramp, and on the beach in Makena.  Humpback whales visit every winter from December to May and it’s a wonderful thing to experience up close.

Bring some friends, a camera and some sun screen and enjoy the sights and sounds of surface behavior from our visiting Humpback Whales.

COMMENTS:

liza:

I am glad you wrote a post on this. I was planning to but didn’t get a chance. I only got to upload the “whale origami curtain photos” at A Maui Blog.

The Whale Day Festival at Kalama Park is surely a treat! I started going there when my kids were small (5 and 4) and now they are 12 and 11! It’s great family fun.

Advanced Maui Optical & Space Surveillance Technologies Conference

The AMOS conference was held at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort on September 1st through 4th, the only conference bringing together international astronomers and space surveillance experts.

Hosted by the Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), the conference had prominent speakers such as Senator Daniel K. Inouye (appropriately via satellite), Air Force Lt. General larry James, Keawala’i Congregational Church’s Kealahou Alika, MEDB President Jeanne Skog, and Wes Friewald (the President of Pacific Defense Solutions) among others.

One of the major topics was the satellite collision in Early February of this year.  Discussion over the concern about large amounts of debris in Earth’s orbit from the Russian and American Satellites was deliberated.

Senate passes measure for additional MSSS funding

MSSS (Maui Space Surveillance System) is home to the largest optical telescope in the United States, designed for tracking satellites.  10,000 feet above sea level, Haleakala Crater’s summit has multiple telescopes that are crucial for space research.

On October 6th, the US Senate passed a measure to increase funding by 207.5 million dollars for projects involving Hawaii.  $20 million of this will go to the research projects at the MSSS.

Maui Observes Spacecraft Crash into the MOON!

We know. It sounds untrue, but it’s a fact! Because Maui and Hawaii have such incredible observing facilities and excellent proximity for viewing, we have been asked to observe a spacecraft being intentionally crashed in to the surface of the moon on October 9th.

The plume of debris will rise up to 3 miles from the surface of the moon.  NASA and the university of Hawaii are hoping this event will determine whether water exists under the surface at the Moon’s poles.  If there is enough water on the moon, we could very possibly colonize it.  With water, agriculture, oxygen, and protective radiation shields would be possible.

We’ll keep you updated!

Yes, it’s true: we don’t get a lot of big acts on Maui.  It’s rare, but we do here and there.  What makes up for this is that the shows are usually in small venues, and less expensive than mainland shows.

An example: The Castle Theatre at the MACC is a small venue with some great acts.  The outside venue at the MACC is also amazing.  It’s a bigger venue but still much smaller than a normal outdoor mainland venue.  Another example would be the recent show by Willie Nelson and Band of Horses that was held in Paia for Free!  They played at Charley’s which only holds just over 100 people.  A great venue if you can get in!

Maui also gets some great Reggae.  Even though bands like Aerosmith may cancel due to it being too small and too little money (if that was the case) we do get some big names in Reggae like Steel Pulse, Israel Vibrations and more…

John Legend put on a great show for us.  Maui may not have the choice of music that we’d like, but when someone good like John Legend does show up, we’re lucky to get him in a small venue.

We recently caught up with Tamera, head wedding coordinator for Akia Weddings & Events.  She told us about the great weddings she’s enjoyed putting together lately and shared some photos with us.  All of the photos on this page are from one of her latest Maui beach weddings.

“Most brides choose to get married in the summer on Maui.  The weather is usually best during this time on the South and West side of the island.  One thing many couples don’t realize is that the weather is pretty consistent throughout the year in these areas.

Sometimes choosing a wedding off-season can save you and your guests a lot of money.  These are some of the things we like to discuss with you to help keep you in budget without losing out on all the wonderful details you want at your wedding”

There are a million things to do when you get married, and we know that you’ve come to Maui because it’s has gorgeous locations and you want to cut down on some of the stress.  This is where we see Akia Weddings help brides the most.  Having a Maui wedding planner makes everything easier.  And that’s what your wedding should be: easy, enjoyable, and unforgettable!

Maui Beach Wedding Tips

• Make sure you know what time the sun sets before you plan the timing of your wedding.  Consult your wedding photographer for the best time to shoot post-wedding photos.
• Hawaii is Windy!  Make sure you’ve got enough product in your hair to keep things from going awry.
• If you’re wearing a strapless dress, or any type of wedding dress that could possibly show tan lines, make certain that you use sunblock before your wedding.  Better yet, buy a strapless bikini to be safe.  This tip pertains to both large and small Maui weddings, and we mention it because it is all too often a problem.
• Make sure you have parking and transportation arranged for your different locations.  Nothing is worse than having a group of guest late to the wedding because of insufficient parking.  Your wedding planner can help you with this.
• Make sure the beach you choose allows you to have a wedding there.  Some beaches (ex. Kaanapali Beach) do not allow any commercial wedding activity on the sand.
• Understand that if you’re getting married on a public beach, there may be other weddings in progress.  Some beaches are more popular than others for weddings.  you may want to reserve a private estate on the sand.  This way there’s no guess work.
• When your Groom is deciding on his Maui wedding attire, keep in mind that Hawaii is hot!  If you’re in the sun with a 3 piece suit, it might be a very short wedding.

We hope a few of these tips were helpful.  If you have more questions about your upcoming wedding, speak to your Maui Wedding Planners.  They’ll start you off on the right foot and make sense of your destination wedding in Hawaii.

Thank you Natalie Brown for allowing us to post your beautiful wedding photos.  Cheers!

We didn’t get married on Maui, but are definitely planning to go back for our 10th anniversary to renew our vows. These are some great tips to consider, not just if you’re planning a wedding, but if you wanted to have vacation portraits taken while visiting Maui as well.

We did that very thing this February, with Natalie Brown as our photographer, in fact. It was an amazing experience and gave us such unique and personalized keepsakes from our trip. We highly recommend having vacation portraits taken to anyone looking for that special way to remember such wonderful memories, and if we had to do it all over again, we would chose Natalie again in a heartbeat.

Mahalo and Aloha,

- Kris

The first film to be shown was Splinterheads about a young man in a small town that falls in love with a beautiful Carnie.  The second film as One Peace At A Time (world premiere), a touching film about what we can do for our world in crisis.  In this film, Willie Nelson, among notable others, has a short insightful interview.  The last film was also a world premiere of Cash Crop.  This film explored the many defining characteristics of a booming marijuana economy in Northern California. The Maui Film Festival is an incredible event to experience.

Every year, local Maui residents anticipate the fun and excitement of the festival.  Those visitors lucky enough to be here for it all claim that Maui has the best film festival in the world.  Enjoying warm weather under the stars with a sunset over the ocean, then watching great movies with friends in the grass can’t be beaten. (One warning though:  If you plan on watching more than the first film, we suggest bringing a jacket and/or blanket.  It can get a bit chilly later on.)

Willie Nelson was awarded this tribute for “courage in his convictions, the ability and willingness to stand the heat, and protect our collective constitutional rights to artistic and political freedom of expression.”

Maui’s favorite springtime event, the 36th annual Seabury Hall Craft Fair was held today Upcountry.  This much anticipated event did not disappoint.  Every year, the craft fair is held the day before Mother’s Day and for good reason.  The event was packed with visitors and residents looking to pick up something unique and locally made for Mom.

Seabury Hall had fun for all ages: kids enjoyed the pony rides provided by Piiholo Ranch, the large double slip and slides, and the jumping castles, while adults shopped, looked at classic cars, enjoyed local food, and danced to the live bands.

Art on Maui has always been the major focus of the event, and again this year dozens of talented artists gathered to show and sell their goods.  Everything from glass blowing to photography was featured at the many booths.  We’ll make sure to come back next year, and we’re glad so many people came this time.

COMMENTS:

Year after year, for the past 5 years, I had been wanting to go to this Seabury Craft Fair because I heard it’s the best! Unfortunately, year after year a conflict in schedule arises (this year it was my son’s Taek Won Do Tournament). That weekend is a very busy weekend for Maui – lots of events going on.

Next year I hope to make it. I am crossing my fingers! Liza

There are 2, among many, reasons why the Cultural Commission has failed in their thinking.

- They feel that the Halloween event takes away from the cultural identity of the town. Please keep in mind that Lahaina is as well known for its whaling than the Ali’i that used to congregate here. Does every event have to reflect ancient Hawaiian history? It’s important to continue promoting the cultural significance of an area, but shutting down a successful event just because it doesn’t directly have historical references is rediculous.

When we say “successful event” we mean to state that it is one of the more peaceful and positive celebrations in Hawaii. Opponents will refer to the 24 arrests made last year for disorderly conduct. We ask them to name any event with anywhere from 25,000-35,000 attendees where there haven’t been some bad apples. When you do the math, the fraction of disruptive individuals compared to orderly attendees is miniscual.

- The one event being granted a permit for this Halloween in Lahaina will be the Keiki Costume parade. In their thinking, Keiki’s dressed as ghosts and cowboys are far less culturally destructive than an adult wearing a similar costume. What the Commission seems to be ignoring is that with less outdoor activities, adults will be forced to spend more time in the various bars that will be holding costume contests. This will lead to more alcohol consumption and more arrests due to drunk driving and disorderly conduct. If they would continue to allow outdoor activities (where alcohol is forbidden), Lahaina is more likely to see order and cheerful behavior.

The nighttime excitement of Halloween is always positive. This atmosphere is conducive to family fun and the Aloha Spirit. Lahaina Town is famous for its gatherings through the centuries. Promoting Ohana and Aloha is the real historical significance that should be respected and upheld.

Even though the events will be trimmed down, Halloween in Lahaina, Maui will again thrive this year with vehicular traffic being traded for costumed foot traffic. Hopefully after the commission sees how their ill attempts and closing the event are ineffective, maybe they will bring back permits for the many fun activities that we’ve enjoyed for almost 2 decades.

COMMENTS:

Aloha, o.k. so………we are going to be in Lahaina this year for Halloween, what gives? On a few websights it looks like it’s not going to be a party anymore. am I reading it wrong? We LOVE Maui & this will be our 8th trip, 1st time @ Halloween. Any info you have would be great.

Mahalo, Cassy

Halloween 2009 will still be on in Lahaina, Maui. This last year, it had tamed down a bit, but still had thousands of costumed people roaming around from bar to restaurant. The only difference is that the police are no longer blocking off the streets to vehicles, which is a bummer. Now the road is filled with taxis instead of a party parade. People are on the sidewalks enjoying the festivities.

It’s still a lot of fun, and probably the biggest Halloween celebration within our islands, but not quite as big as before. There is word out that Paia may take over the celebration on Baldwin Ave, but it’s still up in the air.

Last year was our third Halloween in Lahaina and until they go back to closing front street to car traffic it will be our last. I don’t know how the powers that be expect us to spend hard earned money to come to Maui only to have way too many people on the sidewalks. It was SO crowded you really could not enjoy yourself. In most places you could not stop for more than a few seconds without people bumping into you almost to the point of gentle pushing. For the same reason you really couldn’t enjoy most of the costumes. When Front street was closed there was enough room for everybody, you could enjoy the costumes, visit with people, go into and out establishments very easily it was a very pleasant experience. I used to encourage people to visit Maui for Halloween.

NOT ANYMORE, I go out of my way to discourage people from visiting.