PUHI — There were a lot more people than Marissa Sanblom, vice president of the Grove Farm company, had expected. That included vendors and shoppers as Grove Farm hosted its first-ever swap meet, Saturday at the Puhi Park located a
PUHI — There were a lot more people than Marissa Sanblom, vice president of the Grove Farm company, had expected.
That included vendors and shoppers as Grove Farm hosted its first-ever swap meet, Saturday at the Puhi Park located a stone’s throw from its main offices.
“We didn’t quite know what to expect, but this is really beyond what we expected,” Sanblom said. “We thought if we got 40 people that would be good, but there were more than 60 people signing up.”
Sanblom said the number of shoppers was also good and they opened up the meet early because the vendors were ready and the shoppers were already at the park.
Ron Wiley, KQNG radio’s on-air personality, was doing a series of interviews, noting that there was a lack of power and the vendors were spaced too far apart.
“I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback,” Wiley said. “But one thing everybody is complaining about is the lack of a place to put your rubbish.”
Wiley showed off a cup that once contained a strawberry-taro smoothie from the Hanalei Taro solar-powered lunchwagon that debuted at last week’s Garden Fair.
“Well, at least this cup is biodegradeable,” Wiley said. “But it would be nice if there was a place to put it.”
Sanblom said the two food vendors were told to bring receptacles for trash, but those were insufficient.
“This is a good start,” said Sandi Kato-Klutke of the Aston Islander on the Beach who was thumbing through a Hawaiian reef fish coloring book. “I got some nice papaya and now I’m going to get some mango bread.”
Sanblom said there was a wide variety of items for sale from people who cleaned out their homes for the event.
“We have surfboards, clothes and just a lot of different things. At Grove Farm, we told our people to clean their houses and be a part of this. I have a lot of our baby things that we can’t use anymore,” Sanblom said.
Some of the more unique items included a junior dragster being sold by driver Courtney Brock who said she’s outgrown the car that earned her several awards at Mana Raceway Park.
Another tent was filled with used guitars, electric basses and assorted amplifiers and stage lights. But the space became empty when the drum sets sold and its buyer loaded it on a pickup.
Other groups such as the Kaua‘i Underwater Robotics used the event to let people know about the project involving four schools on the island. They also used the event to help raise funds for the group’s upcoming state competition by selling Imu Hut kalua pig.
American Cancer Society Relay for Life teams had tents with assorted garage sale items and Sanblom said the Easter Seals program also had a fundraiser tent.
“This is really good,” said Douglas and Melissa Nobriga who were browsing through the tents. “They should have this at least once a month. The grass is nice, the wind is blowing and the sun is out.”
Sean Andrade of Kalaheo agreed, and Kurt Toma found that the event was a nice place to let his young one romp through the protected area.
“We’ve had lots of support from the community,” Sanblom said. “The response to this first swap meet has been overwhelming so we’re going to try and make it happen again. At first, we didn’t think it was going to fly, but people got to clean their houses, shoppers got good buys. It’s a win-win for everybody.”
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com
