LIHU‘E — Naoko Ho and the Waimea Senior Center had the answer for the crowd anxiously waiting for the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall doors to open for the Senior Food and Craft Fair Saturday. Russell Wellington, emcee-ing the popular
LIHU‘E — Naoko Ho and the Waimea Senior Center had the answer for the crowd anxiously waiting for the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall doors to open for the Senior Food and Craft Fair Saturday.
Russell Wellington, emcee-ing the popular annual event, said the Waimea Senior Center kept the shoppers occupied, the Westside kupuna opening with a rendering of “God Bless America,” the Pledge of Allegiance and a round of Japanese warm-up exercises.
“This is to get your blood stirred up and your feet ready for walking,” Wellington said. A shopper watching the antics, told her companion, “This is what we need to do at the office. Where do we get the music?”
When the doors opened, the crowd surged forward. Pat Viernes, the site coordinator for the Lihu‘e Neighborhood Center, had to wait until the rush subsided before being able to fully open the doors inside the convention hall.
“They’ll buy the food first,” said Melanie Okamoto, senior coordinator with the county’s Parks and Recreation Department. “Once the food is gone, the shoppers go for the crafts.”
The scenario played out as Okamoto described. Much of the food was created from traditional family recipes which have been handed down.
“I hope the pickled onions sell,” said Kirk Correa earlier in the morning as he watched his daughter participate in the Rotary Club of Kaua‘i’s Old Koloa Sugar Mill Run. “I made some for the Waimea and the Kalaheo centers. We’ll be dropping by after the run.”
The jars of pickled onions were nowhere to be found by the time Kirk and his daughter arrived.
“We have a smoked meat bowl for lunch,” said Basilio “Bunga” Fuertes of the Waimea Senior Center. “Let me know when you’re hungry. It comes with water, too.”
The offering was just another example of the unique food prepared by the kupuna, joining the variety of breads, pickles, Chinese pretzels and other baked goods.
“This is amazing,” Okamoto said. “We had some phone calls in the office from people who wanted to vend at this event, but we had to tell them this is for the seniors. We could take their names and put them on a wait list in the event the county wanted to expand.”
During the shopping frenzy, the different senior centers took the stage with entertainment ranging from ‘ukulele band to line dancing while Marilyn Matsumoto of the Lihu‘e Senior Center called out ticket numbers of winning prizes donated by the different centers.
“Do you see this?” Matsumoto said, pointing to a bonsai from the Valpoons. “This is really special. They could be selling, but they donated one for us to give away as a prize.”
Other prize giveaways included items from community businesses including shopping bags, travel bags and other utilitarian gifts as well as a special music book containing lyrics, notes and chords collated by the Lihu‘e Senior Center ‘Ukulele Band.
Kaua‘i’s kupuna are a vibrant part of Kaua‘i’s people, states the county’s Parks and Recreation website. They look forward to opportunities to learn new skills, be kept abreast of what is happening in their communities and share long-time practices and traditions. Na Kupuna Council, consisting of senior representatives from all the island’s neighborhood centers, meets regularly to discuss topics which impact seniors and their communities.
Visit www.kauai.gov, or call Okamoto at 241-4562 for more information on the senior programs.
