Maui County sporting events and cultural festivals receive funding

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority is awarding $3.78 million to support 76 community projects, festivals and events throughout the state, including a basketball tournament, canoe races and cultural festivals in Maui County, the agency announced last week.

Chaminade University of Honolulu, which puts on the Maui Jim Maui Invitational basketball tournament in Lahaina, received $200,000 under the Signature Events Program in 2023.

Other organizations got funding through the Community Enrichment Program, including Youth In Motion, which received $67,322 for the Molokai Holokai Ho‘olaule‘a, and the Lana‘i Culture and Heritage Center, which was awarded $25,000 to preserve and honor the island’s Japanese history.

Some saw funding for multiple events, such as Lokahi Pacific, which got $60,000 for the Festivals of Aloha and $20,000 for the Emma Farden Sharpe Hula Festival; Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center, which got $25,000 for “Celebrating the Visual Arts of Hawai‘i” exhibition and $20,000 for “Captivate the Artist in You” workshops; and Maui

Arts and Cultural Center, which got $20,000 for the Maui Ukulele Festival 2023 and $20,000 for Visual Arts Exhibitions.

Other awards on Maui included:

● $36,000 to The Lahaina Restoration Foundation for the Moku‘ula Experience.

● $30,000 to Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Voyaging Society for Gathering of the Voyagers.

● $25,000 to Arts Education for Children Group for the 2023 Maui Music Festival Series.

● $25,000 to Hana Arts for Hana Arts Presents! — An Events and Workshops Program for East Maui.

● $20,000 to Hawaiian Kamali‘i Inc., doing business as Hawaiian Canoe Club, for the 2023 Pailolo Challenge.

● $6,000 to the Maui Pops Orchestra Inc. for the 2023 Holiday Pops Concert.

Five project managers have been appointed to administer the awardee contracts in each county. For Maui County, Sumithra Balraj will be the project manager at the Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau. She most recently served as the director of public relations at The Westin Maui Resort & Spa.