Soothing strains of slack key guitar music blend with the aromatic winds that blow through the back parking lot of the Anne Knudsen Park in Koloa as about 15 vendors work through the hot morning air to set up for
Soothing strains of slack key guitar music blend with the aromatic winds that blow through the back parking lot of the Anne Knudsen Park in Koloa as about 15 vendors work through the hot morning air to set up for the weekly Koloa Sunshine Market.
In the outside parking lot, people begin to gather at the coned-off entrance to the back lot in anticipation of the noon start time – Branch Harmony, the event’s host, says: “I’ll go out there in a few minutes to let them in. I usually give them a little talk and lead them in with a ti leaf.” Harmony said the kupuna and single moms with little keiki as well as expecting moms are let in a little early, “kinda like early boarding” so they won’t get trampled by the onslaught of patrons seeking out bargains in locally-produced fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
Harry Reis, who only does business at the Koloa and Hanapepe markets, was busy arranging his tropical flower assortments in plastic containers.
“This is only hobby kine,” he said.
“I used to raise hogs after retiring as the planting supervisor at McBryde.
But, I always used to raise something on the side.” Reis said he used to visit all the markets, but “now getting old, so I only do Koloa and Hanapepe as well as supply some of the local markets like Sueoka’s.” “The visitors like the flowers,” Reis says as he strings a few lei of stephanotis that add to the aromatic atmosphere that permeates the parking lot.
Cora Asuncion, another of the vendors, said she is a charter member of the sunshine market program as she lays out her variety of vegetables that she supplements with some orchid bunches. Asuncion is the coordinator for the markets in Hanapepe, Kekaha, and Lihu‘e.
As the minutes tick towards noon, Harmony makes his way to the waiting throng, and following a brief discussion on the rules, turns his ti leaf over to a local senior citizen to lead the group to the coconut tree just outside of the vendor lineup, the patrons backdropped by fruiting banana trees similar to the Open Markets in Oregon where patrons shop under fruiting apple trees.
Harmony notes that there are locks on all the gates leading to the vendor area. “These never was here,” he said. “But, now…,” his voice trails off as he keeps the crowd at bay until the last of the vendors put out their wares. “I guess the people didn’t grow up in Koloa.” Maria Whatmore came from the North Shore with her assortment of bananas including an eye-catching red hand of Cuban Red that stand out from among the Lady Fingers and Apple that are perennial favorites.
Whatmore says she doesn’t do the Kapa‘a, or the Lihu‘e markets, but instead concentrates on Koloa, Kilauea, and the Hanalei ones because she has keiki to tend to.
For Akira and Rina Takabayashi, visiting from Japan, the event makes their day as Akira closely guards the bulging plastic bag that contains a seedless watermelon from Mana, and Evelyn Coopman, Bruce and Pam DeVine of Los Angeles, California discovers that you don’t just get produce as they took the last bag of Manoa lettuce from Steve and Yvonne Ruiz’s truck, just seconds ahead of Carol Ann Davis who arrive just a shade too late.
Coopman and the DeVines provide a history about how the Manoa lettuce got its name from Ruiz, and as a bonus, Yvonne fishes out some pictures of their farm in Kalaheo.
And, on the way out, there’s always Coconut Bill to check out – with, or without lime. Harmony says the market goes on every Monday except Christmas and New Year’s with the gates opening at noon. But, you need to get there early because, Harmony said, “it’s pretty much over by 1:30.”
