Halloween in Lahaina Back for 4th Consecutive Year

Halloween on Front Street, 2011. File photo.

By Wendy Osher

The “Halloween in Lahaina” event returns to Front Street in West Maui on Friday, Oct. 31, 2014.

Organizers host a full-return of the event for the fourth consecutive year after a lull in activity between 2008 and 2010 due to a dispute over festivities in the Lahaina Historic District, and failure to secure permits for a road closure on Front Street during those years.

Last year, police said the “Halloween in Lahaina” festivities attracted approximately 28,000 people, about the same attendance as in 2012.

When the event was re-introduced in 2011, it was marketed as a more family-friendly festivity, as organizers and sponsors tried to rid the event of its reputation and nickname from Halloween’s past as the “Mardi Gras of the Pacific.”

Halloween in Lahaina, Maui Now file photo 2007.

Highlights this year include the 36th Annual Keiki Halloween Costume Parade at 4:30 p.m. sponsored by the Lahaina Rotary Clubs and the West Maui Soroptimist.

The event features a keiki costume and parade down Front Street to Banyan Tree Park, and participation from the Lahainaluna High School Marching Band.  Participants will receive a congratulatory ribbon and bag of treats.

Live entertainment at Campbell Park begins at 6 p.m. featuring The Haʻikū Hillbilly’s.

This year’s event is made possible through a partnership between the LahainaTown Action Committee and the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development.

The LahainaTown Action Committee says the Halloween in Lahaina event is supported by Lahaina merchants and the sales of the event’s official Halloween t-shirt. The t-shirt is on sale now at: the Lahaina Visitor Center at the Old Courthouse, which are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and at Campbell Park on Halloween Starting at Noon.

An Adult Costume Contest on Halloween night runs from 7 to 9 p.m. at Banyan Tree Park, with sign up starting at 6 p.m. at a Pioneer Inn retail store on Hotel Street. The winner of the grand prize will be awarded $1,000 under an event sponsorship from Honu Seafood & Pizza and Māla Ocean Tavern.

To keep Halloween fun and safe, event organizers released the following information and advisories:

• 

  Halloween bus schedule announced. Maui Now image.

  Street Closure: from Baker Street to Prison Street. Front Street will be closed to vehicular traffic from 3:30 p.m. to midnight. No on-street parking is allowed from 3:30 p.m. to midnight. Employees parked in parking lots with ingress/egress only onto Front Street will not be able to exit parking lots between 3:30 p.m. and midnight.

• Obey Laws: Underage drinking is prohibited. Alcohol consumption is prohibited. Public nudity is prohibited.
• Lost Person Tent: The LahainaTown Action Committee will host a “Lost Person Tent,” to be located at Banyan Tree Park, corner of Front and Hotel Streets.
• Porta Potties: will be located throughout town including Pāpalaua Street, Lahainaluna Road, Fleetwood’s On Front Street alleyway, Market Street and Canal Street.
• Transportation Shuttles: Lahaina Halloween Express will have shuttles departing from War Memorial Parking Lot and Kīhei Aquatic Center Parking Lot. Advance tickets go on sale starting Oct. 20 at noon for $5 each way (cash only). Check in with Campbell Park for available tickets departing to Wailuku and Kīhei on Halloween night. Shuttles will be first come first serve for purchase and boarding. Tickets can be purchased at the Kahului Shell Station’s Super Stop located at 370 Dairy Road and at the Kīhei Shell Station’s, Blackie’s Pit Stop located at 30 Mana’o Kala St.

Schedule of Events:

• 3:30 p.m. to midnight, Front Street Road Closure, Baker to Prison: No Front Street parking, and road closed to vehicular traffic.
• 4:30 p.m., 36th Annual Keiki Costume Parade
• 6 p.m., Campbell Park: live music from 6 to 8 p.m. featuring The Haiku Hillbilly’s; official “Halloween In Lahaina 2014” t-shirt sales from 12 noon to 10 p.m.; keiki activities, face painting, photo opportunities; food booths starting at 4 p.m.; Campbell Park closes at 10 p.m.
• 6 p.m., Banyan Tree Park: costume contest registration on Hotel Street at the Pioneer Inn Shops, 6 to 8:45 p.m. $20 dollars per person; DJ spinning tunes from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.; costume contest, 7 to 9 p.m., sponsored by Honu Seafood & Pizza and Māla Ocean Tavern; announcement of costume contest winners at  9:30 p.m.
• Banyan Tree Park Closes at 10 p.m.