‘Holidays at Lanikeha’ Starts Countdown to Christmas

photo by Léo Azambuja

By Léo Azambuja

The countdown to Christmas has begun. A family-oriented holiday fair held by the Molokai Homestead Farmers Alliance last week had a wide variety of affordable Christmas gifts from dozens of vendors, just in time for the holidays.

“This is Holidays at Lanikeha. It’s a yearly thing that we do, usually in November and December,” MHFA president Faith Tuipulotu said. “We get crafters that come out, anybody that makes things, whatever their craft is.”

Thirty different vendors, including three food booths, participated in the Holidays at Lanikeha fair at the main hall at Lanikeha Community Center in Hoʻolehua on the evening of Nov. 21. Mostly everyone who attended the event took advantage of the unique gifts at affordable prices, and left with a thing or two — and some went home with a full belly. 

“It really brings out the holiday spirit for us,” MHFA volunteer Rosie Davis said.

There was a broad range of gifts, including home and holiday decorations, clothes, toys, food products, jewelry, kitchen utensils, comic books, games and a lot more. Vendors were given a free table by the Homestead Alliance. They only had to pay a fee if they wanted a second table.

“It’s our fifth year. So it’s been very beneficial to the Alliance to be able to gather the community like this, because it’s not everywhere that you can get a free table and put your things down,” Davis said.

Tuipulotu said she was having a lot of fun socializing with others.

“Where do you go to on this island? This is a perfect spot to do this,” she said. “You’ve got people and friends you haven’t seen for a long time, and you can get acquainted again, plus go shopping and buy dinner.”

Natalie Sambajon, of K&K 3-D Printing, had dozens of colorful, articulated toys for sale, all made by her company’s 3-D printing machines. She said they usually print things for children, but they also can print household, farming and fishing tools, “whatever our 3-D printer can do.” 

Jason Elder brought some of his wood utensils made with an “artistic flair,” crafted with an assortment of woods, such as mango, monkey pod, acacia and mahogany.

“I do a lot of gift baskets using local products,” Val Starkey said, showing a selection of charming lauhala baskets she carefully put together with island goods. She also had some condiment shelves that her husband built using wood from discarded pallets.

Malu Gaui, of Hulu Girls, sold cookies, lots of cookies.

“There’s chocolate-chip, chocolate-chip mac. There’s shortbread mac. We have regular shortbread. And then my auntie is also selling some chocolate-chip macadamia nut pies,” Gaui said. “We also have stew luau plates.”

Emilie Davis and her son Ace had a unique business, Shaka Magnets. 

“We sell custom magnets for people to give out as birthday presents or gifts,” Ace Davis said. A QR code allowed you to send them a photo for a custom-made magnet. “If not, we also sell pre-made magnets of Molokai.”

photo by Léo Azambuja

Micah Buchanan, along with his wife, Alex Buchanan, and their kids, Kalama and Kaleiopapa, were selling Christmas tree ornaments and home-made Christmas centerpieces.

“My mom, she likes to do Christmas centerpieces, wreaths,” Micah Buchanan said. “She does it pretty much every holiday season. She makes a bunch of them.”

Penny DeLuna, of Adolpen Creations, had a table full of hand-made stuffed crochet toys of different sizes, shapes and colors. Despite appearing to be a highly skilled craft and incredibly time-consuming to make, they were very affordable. 

“I crochet all these little gadget and little stuffed animals for big kids and little kids,” DeLuna said, adding her favorite and most popular items were the poppet mushrooms, because they are “little fidget toys.”

If you enjoy a cup of tea and crackers in the afternoons, then Kekoa Butters might be just the upgrade you need. Lanre and JJ Poaha make flavored butters with love and other sweet ingredients available on the island.

“We are selling some yummy-flavored butters here today, all made with love. I got lilikoi, ube, guava, mango and kalo butter. You can put them on toast, bagels, pancakes and waffles,” Lanre Poaha said.

A holiday fair with a variety of vendors would only be complete with a variety store. Mary Rapanot, of M.R. Variety, sold hair clips, journals, office stuff, wood jewelry and other things that you would normally find in a variety store. 

“That’s why we call it M.R. Variety,” Rapanot said. But her store had an extra local hand-made touch; a lot of her wooden items had laser-engraved Molokai motifs. 

The Keanini family, Dennis and Pat, plus their son Brendan, sold bags of roasted macadamia nuts and pots of ʻinamona, all sourced from macadamia and kukui nut trees on their property. 

But the most interesting thing the Keaninis had for sale were Dennis’ unique dry boxes, which he has been perfecting for more than 15 years. The boxes, available in different sizes, were built with a slim wood frame and a fine mesh. The high quality of Dennis’ skilled craftmanship was the first noticeable thing.

“You could dry apples, bananas, whatever you want, meat, squid,” Dennis Keanini said. “It’s like a dehydrator but with natural sun.”

Michelle and Al Visoria are known for selling gardenias, which they have been doing for about 15 years. But they also had several beautifully crafted koa wood bracelets and a few pine wood shelves, all made by Al Visoria.

The Molokai Homestead Farmers Alliance will hold another fair before Christmas, on Dec. 12. Davis said vendors willing to join should call her at (808) 646-9037 to reserve a free table.