About Lahaina's Kapalua

Whenever there is an event in the Kapalua Resort, I immediately run to my blog to let my friends and readers know about it. This Friday, May 1st, the Kapalua Resort will celebrate May Day.

While people around the world celebrate the beginning of Spring, May Day is truly a special day in Hawaii. Growing up here, dancing the hula was a pivotal part of my childhood, and on May Day, our elementary school would throw the most wonderful celebrations, with dancing, lei making contests, and mu'umu'u contests. It was a special occasion, and each year, my mother would take me to Ka'ahumanu Shopping Center to find the dress, and we would stay up the night before making flower lei to give to friends the next day.

While I have personal recollections of May Day from childhood, I realized that I didn't know anything about the historical significance of the holiday. I was surprised to find out that May Day was proposed by a local poet, Don Blanding, and a fellow writer, Grace Tower in the late 1920's. In an article for the Star Bulletin, it was suggested that a holiday be created centering around the Hawaiian custom of making and wearing lei. The first of May was proposed, and the holiday festivities were held in downtown Honolulu in 1928 (some sources say in 1927). The celebrations were a great success, and in 1929, Lei Day was made an official holiday in the territory of Hawaii and a tradition began.

The lei holds significance for the people of Hawaii, as early settlers brought the custom of weaving garlands of fragrant flowers, leaves, shells, nuts, and other materials. With the advent of tourism, it became a symbol of Aloha, both welcoming visitors and wishing them as they depart.

Did you know?

• You should always accept a lei. The maker of a lei takes great care in gathering of the materials to make the lei, and it thought that their a part of their spirit is captured in the weaving of the lei.
• It is considered bad form to refuse a lei, to remove it from your neck in the presence of the giver, or to ask someone for their lei.
• Lei are given to mark a variety of special occasions, and can carry great symbolic weight. Meaning is attached to the materials used and to the occasion. Lei worn by dancers were not given away as they'd been dedicated to the Golds. Some lei are associated with weddings, others with funerals, and still others with luck (good or bad).
• When giving a lei to a pregnant women, it should be left open, not tied.
• Never casually throw out a lei-it should be returned to the place it was gathered, or buried or hung in a tree. In the 1800's those departing the islands by ship would throw their lei overboard, as a symbol of their eventual return to the islands.
• A child is considered a lei, as a child is an intertwining of the parents.
• The presenting of a lei with a kiss was never a traditional Hawaiian custom. It was customary to present the lei wrapped or to hand it to the recipient just above the heart. It's rumored to have begun at a USO dance, when a girl was dared by her friends to kiss a soldier. She gave him a lei, saying it was customary to give a kiss with it, and a new custom was born.

So you can see that the lei has a signficance beyond just giving and receiving-symbolizing aloha, family, friendship, love, children, and so much more.

I hope you will join the Kapalua Resort family for its annual May Day Celebration in the Honolua Village. Residents, visitors, employees, and students all join in celebration of the Festival of Flowers. Participate in Lei Making, enjoy hula and music performances, sample ice cream from Roselani Tropics, and view the vintage Aloha Shirt, Mu'umu'u and Holoku exhibits.

Friday, May 1, 2009, Schedule:

10:00 am: Opening Ceremony and Welcome.

Music by Wilmont Kahaiali'i Productions, Mele (song) by Kapalua Preschool Students, Hula by Kapalua Reservations and Sales ‘Ohana, as well as by Kaho'iwai Belsom and Pualani Pang

11:30 am: Presentation of Maui Preparatory Academy's May Day Court.

Music by Sam Ahia and Friends, Hula by Mapuana Snedicor. Announcement of Lei Contest Winners and Prizes. Hula by the Kapalua Resort Community ‘Ohana.

2:00 pm: Closing Song, "May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii"

Join your community members and volunteers from local organizations at Honolua Bay at 8:00 am for a stewardship event to celebrate Earth Day.

Honolua Bay is located just north of the Kapalua Resort, and is one of Maui's most treasured natural resources. The Bay is home to fantastic coral reefs and marine life, making it an ideal snorkel spot. When the surf is up, this is one of the world's best surf spots.

Maui Land and Pineapple and Community Work Day have coordinated a cleanup, the Honolua Store Lunch Wagon will provide refreshments. Call 808-669-9062 to register.

Aloha,

I've just posted my latest Kapalua Resort Newsletter and Market Update. Looking back at the MLS activity for the Kapalua Resort in the month of March, the Kapalua Resort Market:

• There were 12 new listings, ranging from a low of $650,000 for a two-bedroom Golf Villa one-bedroom to a high of $12,995,000 for a 13,705 sq. ft. estate home on over five acres in Honolua Ridge II.
• Of the new listings, one was a bank owned property: 406 Monarch, Pineapple Hill I, was listed at $1,700,000 and received an accepted offer the first day it was listed. The offering price was at approximately 70% of the average sale price of $2,358,333 for homes in Pineapple Hill since 1/2008.
• There have been 21 properties that have reduced their asking prices: 7 Bay Villas, 2 Golf Villas, 4 Ridge Villas, 1 Pineapple Hill home, 1 fractional ownership of a home in Pineapple Hill, 1 Plantation Estates Home, 1 Oceanfront Home, 2 Ironwoods Villas, and 1 lot at the Plantation Estates.
• There are two new escrows in March: a Bay Villa oceanview one bedroom in original condition, and the 406 Monarch in Pineapple Hill
• One sale of a home in Pineapple Hill, 1200 Summer at $2,325,000, which closed at 90% of the asking price.

In addition to the active MLS listings and pending sales, I've revamped my newsletter to provide year to date updates rather than sales since the last newsletter. I've also included original list prices and price per square foot. I hope this will better update those of you interested in following our Kapalua Resort market. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or for additional information!

The KapaluaWine & Food Festival has announced a "Buy Now and Save"promotion for family, friends, and the general public. The 28th Annual Kapalua Wine & Food Festival celebrates "Carnival" with a four day extravaganza of some of the world's best food and wine.

This is one of my favorite events of the year, and I always try to get to the Grand Tasting and the Seafood Festival. Last year, both events were held at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, which has just undergone a $180+ million dollar renovation. This year, you'll also be able to see the new Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, Kapalua Bay, which are Maui's newest luxury condominium community, scheduled to open May 31st on the site of the old Kapalua Bay Hotel.

If you purchase select tickets between now and May 1, you'll receive a $20 discount. Tickets may be purchased online or call Kapalua Events at 808-665-9160 with any questions.

The Kapalua Golf Academy is encouraging you to "Get the Family to Come Out and Play!" The Academy is featuring a "friends and family" one-hour beginning golf lesson for up to four people at only $120. For $200, the group will also get to play on the Village Walking Course, which is the new three-hole course with three sets of tees (making it an ideal place to polish those golf skills). To make reservations, call: 808-665-5455 or visit the Kapalua Golf Academy, here in the Kapalua Resort.