Maui Aids Foundation to host ‘World AIDS Day – A Concert of Hope’ at ʻĪao Theater

The Maui AIDS Foundation and ‘ohana will gather to stand against HIV/AIDS at the “World AIDS Day – A Concert of Hope” event on Dec. 1.

The World AIDS Day event will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Historic ʻĪao Theater in Wailuku. Gilead Sciences, Inc. is the official sponsor of the event.

Featured in concert are local favorite entertainers, the award winning and versatile Eric Gilliom, guitar and ukulele virtuoso, Vince Esquire, and singer-songwriter and slack-key guitarist, Anthony Pfluke.

Panels of the National AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display with new blocks representing the State of Hawaiʻi. The National AIDS Memorial Quilt is an epic 54-ton tapestry originating in 1985 that includes nearly 50,000 panels dedicated to honoring loved ones and to demand health and social justice free of stigma and discrimination for those that have passed and those afflicted and living with HIV/AIDS. The beauty of the quilt and its collective memory promises to be a moving experience.

Prevention and harm reduction education, progress on treatment and care, and information on Maui AIDS Foundation services will be available on site.

The night will culminate with Tiare Sua, MAF Co-Director of Prevention and Harm Reduction Education, offering a reverent reading of the names in a light ceremony.

“Though Maui County is small, the HIV/AIDS response has been substantial throughout
the 37-year history of the Maui AIDS Foundation,” said Linda Puppolo, executive director of the Maui AIDS Foundation. “AIDS will not end unless we end it for everyone. There is an opportunity to end AIDS by 2030 by increasing advocacy that invests in a dedicated medical, research, and financial response. We need everyone’s help.”

Maui AIDS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established on Maui in 1986. Visit mauiaids.org to learn more.