More than 30 vendors to participate in hybrid festival

More than 30 Maui, Molokai and Lanai vendors will get the chance to sell their products in person as part of the revamped 8th annual Hawaiian Airlines Made in Maui County Festival on Dec. 4.

The festival, which showcases locally made products, launched as a virtual-only event earlier this month, but after the website crashed during key shopping hours, Maui Chamber of Commerce organizers said they would try to reschedule the popular annual shopping event.

The Dec. 4 event will take place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will be a hybrid in-person and virtual festival, with vendors at the War Memorial Special Events Field and others available online at madeinmauicountyfestival.com. A total of 50 vendors are participating in the live and virtual events, Maui Chamber President Pamela Tumpap told The Maui News on Wednesday.

Shoppers visiting the War Memorial event will be required to wear masks and undergo temperature checks at the entrance. Attendance is free.

All of the 2021 Made in Maui County vendors will be included in the virtual event, allowing shoppers to browse products and video chat with vendors.

A video stream with emcee Kathy Collins, vendor demonstrations, chef features and a lunchtime concert featuring Jordan Soon, Ahumanu, Marty Dread and Kalani Pe‘a will be shown on Facebook Live and on the virtual event page at facebook.com/MadeInMauiCountyFestival/ during the day. Live programming will not occur at the in-person event.

“We are so excited to be able reschedule this event and offer the in-person option for our vendors this year after the virtual site crashed on November 6,” Tumpap said in a news release Wednesday. “It is a great opportunity for our local community to connect with vendors in person while also having the virtual option for our statewide, national and international shoppers.”