KAPAA — Eat, drink, eat some more, drink some more, eat even more and be merry is the concept behind Taste of Hawaii. Unlimited is the concept. Unlimited for $100 a person. And behind it all is fundraising for the
KAPAA — Eat, drink, eat some more, drink some more, eat even more and be merry is the concept behind Taste of Hawaii. Unlimited is the concept. Unlimited for $100 a person. And behind it all is fundraising for the community at the 26th annual “Taste of Hawaii” event June 1 at Smith’s Tropical Paradise.
“The thing that always makes Taste of Hawaii so wonderful is the wide range of food and entertainment,” said Ron Margolis, Taste of Hawaii event chairman and president of the Rotary Club of Kapaa.
The event, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Kapaa, will be held at the 30-acre private park from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will include a silent auction, more than 40 chefs from various venues, 15 beverage vendors and 10 musical acts.
“The main thing that is unique to the experience is the food is endless, as much as you can eat,” Margolis said. “And musical entertainment on four different stages.”
The fundraising experience will include dishes prepared by cuisine from the Starwood Group, including Nanea Restaurant from the Westin Princeville; Rumfire from the Sheraton Resort in Poipu Beach; and the Kauai Grill from the St. Regis Princeville. Attendees will be able to sample from a whole variety of tasty delights and finish off their culinary experience with a slice of caramel apple pie from The Right Slice.
The monies raised from Taste of Hawaii 2013 extravaganza resulted in more than $45,000 given to the Kauai community. Those funds were used for youth programs, refurbishing projects, programs for the homeless and the Kauai Food Bank, scholarships for college-bound high school and community college students, the Anahola Diabetes and Wellness Fair, among other worthy causes.
“We have local clubs like the Boy Scouts and Canoe Clubs helping with the all the set-up and clean-up efforts, which as you can imagine with all those people attending, will be huge,” Margolis said. “We’ll be giving them a stipend for their help.”
Previous turn-out has run from between 1,000 and 2,000 hungry, thirsty fun-loving people. In order to keep cool, organizers have added misters in numerous locations for people to refresh themselves.
“This year we’re having a contest for the best dressed man and women,” Margolis explained. “The most stunning and most handsome. They’ll win two tickets to The Taste of Hawaii 2015.”
The Rotary Club of Kapaa is looking for additional members.
“When I joined in 2006, we had 57 members,” Margolis said. “Now we’re down to 31 members. We’d love to have more people who live on the Eastside join us in experiencing the excitement of putting on this event and participating in all the other projects we do.”
For further information visit www.tasteofhawaii.com. Tickets are $100 if purchased online and $115 at the door. Parking and shuttle service will be provided to and from Smiths.
