Maui Hawaii Updates

A couple of us from the Northshore of Oahu would love to come and party. But, we have a couple questions before we book our rooms and flight.

1st - What is the exact date of the party 30th or 31st. The website mentions Hallow's eve? 

2nd - Are there open container laws within the block party once the streets are closed?

3rd - Are the streets being closed off to cars again this year?

- Craig

1st Answer - Halloween is always on the 31st. All Hallow's Eve is another way of saying Halloween.  It means the day before All Hallows Day, or All Saints Day on November 1st of each year.  Contrary to popular belief, the name comes from Catholic origins in more recent times, but has been found to have roots back to the 16th Century Scottish, the Roman feasts of Pomona, and Goidelic festivals in the British Isles celebrating the end of summer.

2nd Answer - Prohibited alcohol use on the street is STRICTLY enforced.  Don't bring booze outside of the bars/restaurants, or you'll have a less than desirable Halloween celebration in the tank.  Also, have a designated driver or use taxis.  Alcohol use is one of the reasons sited to keep the celebrations small in the past, even though the percentage of unruly participants has always been extremely minimal.  Halloween in Lahaina has always brought a lot of fun and revenue to the town in the past, and we'd like to see it continue.

3rd Answer - It appears that Lahaina will have the streets opened to pedestrians again! Finally, Halloween is back on Maui!!!

Aloha,
Lahaina Halloween

We've seen a lot of musical legends in our day, but this managed to be an exception.  Great singers like Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney are musical geniuses, but they don't have the voice they used to (forgive me, I feel awful saying it, but it's true.  Those guys can still sing me off the stage.)  BUT Elton has kept his voice through the years.  He sounded better than ever, and his piano skills are unrivaled.  What a show!  This will go down as one of the greatest Maui events ever!

The 1st show sold out immediately to MACC members.  Because of the incredible demand, Sir Elton was kind enough to play another show.  We're hoping to get to tonight's show as well, but if not, we're happy with what we got.  We hope you enjoy our photos!  Mahalo, Elton, for an incredible show!

Proceeds went to the Maui Recycling Group, which is responsible for most of the initiatives made on Maui towards recycling.

This friday, October 1st, we'll be celebrating a the Maui beer garden in Wailuku, Maui.  A large portion of the proceeds will go to benefit Maui Recycling Group and Kahua Maoli.  Enjoy 4 dollar beers with us from 5pm to 9pm.

Stella Artois, Widmer Oktoberfest, and Shock Top.

Depending upon your support, this may become a regular addition to Wailuku's First Fridays.  So show up and support these great causes by tossing one back with us!  See you there!

To join the Lahaina Halloween Facebook group, Check out Halloween Facebook.

This year the Maui Film Festival and much fewer visitors than last year, but it was just as good as ever.  The only down side to this was that they didn't have any of the shows on the beach like previous years.  We've heard some speculation that the Film Fest will be discontinued because of short attendance this year.  If this happens, it would be a tragedy.  The Maui Film Festival is one of the best things happening each year.  Those who have attended will admit that it's the best film festival in the world.  Next year will surely bring more people as the economy gets better.

Big Mahalos to everyone that put the event together this year!  What a success!  From the parties, the screenings, and all the happy movie goers, this was one of the best years yet.

We almost tried every item served, but there was so much great food it was hard to do.

The turn out was great, the view gorgeous, and the food spectacular. We'll be back again next year for The Taste of Wailea.

It's safe to say that we LOVE the Maui Flim Festival! The Taste of Chocolate at the Maui Four Seasons was all time this year! Beautiful women, delicious chocolate treats, and interesting, passionate people all around!

Every person we talked to had a story. And some of them were worth listening to. We met some intelligent, driven film makers and we also met some hideous cheese dicks. Tonight was a mix of all kinds.

We love these events because of the people. Nowhere else on Earth can you meet such different personalities in 1 place. It's a collision of Orange County and Humbolt County. Stoney and fake and ambitious and unique and beautiful and creative and aweful and wonderful. This isn't to say that the Maui locals are the creative, stoney ones and the LA crowd are the fake, pretensious ones. There are both types on both sides. But these events bring out all the Maui natives that want to show off their glossy sides.

Don't get me wrong: we enjoyed dressing up and wearing long sleeves tonight, but we didn't search for the biggest and brightest stars to talk to. It was funny. At many points during many conversations, as soon as the people we talked to found out that we write, blog, and live on Maui, they would start looking over our shoulders to find someone to talk to that would have more relevance to their little LA bubbles. Funny.

Overall, the taste of chocolate was stellar! Everywhere we looked there was some little goody of chocolate happiness. Happy people floated around in warm weather with the ocean behind them. Good music, chocolate sculptures, painted near-naked dancers, and some very talented film people filled the event. We met some amazing people, and we caught up with some very good friends.

We've been lucky enough to enjoy a few large film festivals, but Maui is by far the best. Anyone who has been to it will agree.

We'll be at the movies and events again tomorrow and Sunday. check in again then!! Aloha!

2010 Maui Film Festival at Celestial Cinema

Tonight was about as good as it gets on Maui. We enjoyed watching the NBA finals, lakers barely beating Celtics. We then had a great meal at Gannon's Restaurant sitting across from Taylor Steele and his group. Then we ventured to set up camp on the lawn for the shows.

The sunset was incredible. We found a nice spot to watch the films at and settled in. Taylor Steele was honored for his film making, and did a short, live interview. Having watched his films growing up (Momentum II is forever burned into our retinas) it was pure pleasure learning about the guy that brought us so many unforgettable surf movies.

We then watched a short film about a parapalegic surfer. After this inspiring film, Taylor Steele' new film, Castles in the Sky, was a departure from his regular surf porn (which we love. Surf, surf, and more surf.)  Steele has grown artistically and made a beautiful movie about experiencing life and surfing the world. The surfing was incredible, the back drops stunning, and the people authentic. A great overall movie. Some of the shots in that movie will never leave me. Beautiful.

The 3rd film was a short about circus freaks that weren't as freaky as they appear. Interesting, and built to tug at the heart strings.

Our last film was about the roots of Rock Steady, the precursor to modern reggae. It was created from Ska, and changed music forever in the 1960's. The movie was wonderful with bright characters and solid sounds.

After everything, we caught ourselves in the parking lot with Marty Dread discussing the movie. The positive spirit from the movie was tangible.

A great night at the Maui Film Festivsl in Wailea. One of the best Maui events all year.  Aloha!!