PO‘IPU — Eighteen breweries from across Hawai‘i and the mainland will serve up 32 types of beer, cider and hard seltzer this Saturday at the Kaua‘i Brewers Festival at the Po‘ipu Beach Athletic Club.
The festival, running from 2 to 6 p.m., is co-sponsored by the Kaua‘i Island Brewing Company and Salty Wahine, and benefits the nonprofit Kamawaelualani, a group dedicated to the perpetuation of Native Hawaiian culture through public arts and place-based learning.
“It is an absolutely wonderful organization to provide fundraising, and Nikki’s done some amazing work,” said Bret Larsen, a co-owner of Kaua‘i Island Brewing Company, in reference to Kamawaelualani’s Co-Founder and Executive Director Nikki Cristobal.
“I know it’s really difficult running a nonprofit, especially contributing to and fostering the ‘Hawai‘i-ness’ of Kaua‘i and Kaua‘i itself,” Larsen continued.
Funds raised at Saturday’s festival will support Kamawaelualani’s Ko‘o Kaua‘i and Mo‘olelo Murals programs.
Muralists will be on-site during the festival.
“We’ll be doing a live mural, too,” said Mo‘olelo Murals lead artist Holly Ka‘iakapu at the group’s Alakoko mural project last week at the Alakoko (Menehune) Fishpond in Hule‘ia.
“We need to have funds for some of our projects (like the weekly Friday Night Arts, the Paint Pa‘ina on the third Wednesday of the month, the Salt Pond Beach Park pavilion mural, repair of the Wailua Loop Road vandalism, and more).”
Nine food vendors will serve up good eats alongside the breweries’ drinks.
Aunty Lilikoi is bringing over some of her reknowned lilikoi chiffon pie.
“Laura Cristobal Andersland asked if I could help,” a spokesperson from Aunty Lilikoi told The Garden Island. “Laura is from the Salty Wahine Gourmet Hawaiian Salt, and that’s family, so I’m bringing over pie.”
The event will also include live music from Kaua‘i Kollab and Cruz Control, and two-person tournaments for cornhole, Portuguese horseshoe and beer pong, with prizes over $500 for first place.
A dunk-tank fundraiser will round out the afternoon. Currently, Kaua‘i County Councilmembers Luke Evslin and Felicia Cowden are scheduled to sit above the tank, with more coming, according to organizers.
To purchase tickets to the Kaua‘i Brewers Festival, visit kauaibrewersfestival.com.
General tickets are $75 and include entry and brewers’ mug, beer and food tastings.
VIP tickets are $100 and include 1 p.m. early entry and brewers’ mug, VIP parking and beer and food tastings.
w Info: kauaibrewersfestival.com
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com. Scott Yunker, reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.
