[PORTFOLIO]

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BY CRAIG T. KOJIMA / STAR-BULLETIN
80-year-old Larry Galban trims coffee plants at his brother's
orchard. He holds a sickle used to cut down dead tree limbs.

Old tradition
blossoms anew

April is Ag-tourism month on the Big Island. In celebration of agriculture's contribution to the area's quality of life, both visitors and residents celebrate at the annual Kona Spring Blossom Festival, a month-long series of events named for the many flowers and trees that blossom on the Kona Coast during the Spring season.

One special event was the Hanami party, held March 31 at Doutor Farm in Holualoa. Hanami means flower viewing in Japanese and is celebrated annually under the cherry blossoms.

BY CRAIG T. KOJIMA / STAR-BULLETIN
Coffee plants are blossoming throughout south Kona,
including this plant at Cedar House that had
red beans and flowers.

Early coffee farmers in Kona held these parties under the coffee flowers before World War II because the coffee flowers reminded them of cherry blossoms in Japan.

Now, the event is being revived. This year's Hanami was attended by more than 400 people including guests from the mainland, Japan and Holland that included free sake and beer tasting, lunch, karaoke, poetry readings, lauhala demonstrations, farms tours and sales of local products.

BY CRAIG T. KOJIMA / STAR-BULLETIN
Cedar House owners Nik and Diana Von der Luhe walk through
their orchard of flowering coffee plants in South Kona.

BY CRAIG T. KOJIMA / STAR-BULLETIN
Joe Galban was hard at work with his brother, Larry, tending
to his coffee plants. He was spreading fertilizer.

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