Resurrection of Maui County Fair passes County Council unanimously on first reading

Maui County Council members voted 9-0 Friday morning to approve on first reading an amended Bill 7, revising the County’s fiscal year 2025 budget to appropriate $1.5 million to the nonprofit Festivals of Aloha for the 2025 Maui County Fair.

According to a committee report from Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura, the much beloved annual community event has not been held since 2019 because of crowd restrictions during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

“Once the restrictions were lifted, the event still did not resume because of increased costs to transport amusement rides and house event operators,” she said.

The Bissen administration selected the Festivals of Aloha to organize the next fair in the fall of 2025, but scaled back from fairs in previous years.

The County’s $1.5 million grant would be used for event planning, transportation, entertainment, agriculture exhibits and related expenses, Sugimura said.

She noted that the Maui Community Correctional Center Workline Program won’t be available to assist with fair setup. So, fair organizers plan to reach out to the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College’s carpentry program for assistance with construction work.

The fair’s draft budget expects $2,657,000 in revenue, including the $1.5 million County grant and $1,157,000 from sponsorships, fees and in-kind donations, Sugimura said.

Work is ongoing to address logistical and staffing needs to reimagine and ensure a successful event, she said. Any excess revenue from this year will be allocated to support expenses for next year’s Maui Fair.

Fair activities, including the Special Fair Day, evoke nostalgia for residents who recall how the fair, over the years, has united the community, celebrated Maui’s culture and assisted nonprofit organizations with fundraising, she said.

In testimony submitted to the Budget Committee, Maui Chamber of Commerce President Pamela Tumpap said the chamber supports the idea of bringing the fair back as a “treasured event in our community.”

“We well understand the significant amount of time and funding it took to continue the fair year after year and why it was no longer viable with rising costs,” Tumpap said. “Given that and changing conditions, including the significant loss of local families who have moved away, we recommend that the County conduct a feasibility study to determine the viability and costs of bringing back the Maui County Fair as it was or with new recommendations from the study to sustain the event.”

She said that, if the County decides to move ahead with the fair, with or without a feasibility study, then a request for proposals should be issued “so all interested parties can submit proposals for the planning, coordination and management of this important community event through a fair and equitable process.”