11th ANNUAL LIGHTING OF THE BANYAN TREE--DECEMBER 3rd AND 4th, 2011

The 11th Annual Lighting of the Banyan Tree will be held this weekend, December 3-4 in downtown Lahaina. As has been the tradition, the tree will be lit with hundreds of strings of brightly colored Christmas lights.

The official tree lighting is at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday evening; however, festivities run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Some of those festivities would include a visit to the Winter Wonderland where Frosty, our Hawaiian "snowman" will be. Santa arrives on Saturday at 2 p.m. This will also mark the start of children's crafts, including face painting and some very fun cookie decorating. Music begins at 10 a.m.

Admission is free, with the exception of the Winter Wonderland, where the Lahaina Town Action Committee is requesting a donation of one non-perishable food item. Donations will help feed those in need in the West Maui area.

If you are reading this post and wondering about the significance of Lahaina's Banyan tree, it was planted in 1873 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first missionaries. When it was planted it was only 8 feet tall. Today it covers nearly an acre of land and boasts multiple trunks, some of which you can see in my photo here. To appreciate the sheer scale of it, notice that there are two people in the back of the photo leaning against one of the trunks. It is truly amazing.

In case you will miss this weekends festivities, you can enjoy the Banyan Tree lights until January 1, 2012.