Made in Hawaii fest kicks off

Flossie keeps a few vendors away from the annual festival

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The 12th annual Made in Hawaii Festival at Blaisdell Center is expected to attract plenty of shoppers to products from some 400 vendors, but there were a few missing because of Hurricane Flossie this year.

Surfing Goat Dairy on Maui and the Hawaiian Vanilla Co. on the Big Island skipped this year's festival because of transportation hurdles caused by Flossie.

However, festival coordinators still expect a crowd of some 35,000 shoppers to attend this year's festival.

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There were a few missing vendors at the 12th annual Made in Hawaii Festival at the Blaisdell Center due to the impending Hurricane Flossie, but a good crowd still attended yesterday.

Made in Hawaii Festival Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. today; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow Admission: $3; free for children 6 and under. ($1 coupons available at First Hawaiian branches on Oahu.)

Though he had a booth reserved, Thomas Kafsack from Surfing Goat Dairy on Maui was not able to ship his products to the festival in time for its launch yesterday morning. Hawaiian Vanilla Co. from the Big Island also did not make it due to the threats of the hurricane, which eventually dissipated as it headed farther south earlier this week.

Kafsack was disappointed, estimating a loss of thousands of dollars in potential revenue from the three-day event.

The main hurdle to getting his products to the festival came when Young Brothers stopped all barges on Tuesday, he said, giving the dairy no way to ship its cheese to Honolulu in time.

"No barge going and no refrigeration at Hawaiian or Aloha (airlines) in Kahului, so no chance to bring fresh cheese or truffles to the festival," he said. "With the Superferry already in business, we could have gone on Thursday with our own truck, but they are starting their schedule too late for us."

Kafsack said it was a difficult decision to make, but when he could not get his cheese on a barge earlier than Thursday, or get a guarantee from one of the airlines that they could deliver the cheese in less than four hours, he decided to cancel.

On top of it all, he said, Flossie didn't even bring some rain to the dairy's bone-dry pastures.

Customers at the festival were also disappointed not to be able to sample the widely advertised goat cheese truffles, but they showed up to shop from about 400 vendors.

Ed Thompson, executive director of the Hawaii Food Industry Association, which coordinates the festival, said some neighbor island vendors were able to ship their products on Hawaiian Airlines, which is a sponsor.

Festival organizers expect an attendance of about 35,000.

"It's going well," said Thompson as he walked between the aisles yesterday. "We were concerned that the hurricane might have scared off some people, but people are here today and they're out here to shop. It's pretty packed."

This year's festival featured more vendors from neighbor islands, according to Thompson. Besides Oahu, this year's festival drew vendors from the Big Island, Kauai, Maui and Niihau.

Approximately 16 percent of the vendors this year came from neighbor islands, higher than in past years, according to Thompson. The festival this year also designated areas such as "Kauai Made," a concept it hopes to use for all neighbor isles next year.

The festival features everything under the sun -- from organic fertilizer to Big Island coffee, hand-sewn turtle and gecko pillows, Garden Isle honey, sea asparagus from Marine AgriFuture, hot fudge sauce by Maui Mudd, the ever-popular assorted Molokai breads from Kanemitsu Bakery, and home fashion accessories made from bark cloth.

While there were many returnees this year, such as Alii Kula Lavender, there were also a few new vendors, such as Lohikai 'O Molokai Shell Jewelry from Molokai. Shoppers also were able to see paintings created by the mouth from "This Abled Painter," Morris M. Nakamura.

In order to participate, the products must be made or grown in Hawaii.

Many of the vendors consider the festival one of the best opportunities for introducing themselves to buyers as well as customers. The Hawaiian Chip Co., for instance, was able to get an account with Costco Wholesale Corp. after being discovered at last year's festival.

As for Kafsack, who brought in an estimated $8,000 in sales from last year's festival, it's too late. But he's hoping to make it next year. In September, he's counting on the Superferry to get his cheese to the Saturday farmer's market at Kapiolani Community College, where he will be selling regularly.