The Fair is Back

Lunas past and present are excited for the fair, echoing the sentiment of the Maui County Fair website: “it’s more than a fair—it’s where memories are made and community comes alive.”

“When I first walk in, I just see, like, so much familiar faces, and then I see everyone smiling, and I just see a lot of kids having fun, and the community just enjoying themselves,” sophomore Kyrah Pagdilao reminisced, remembering Maui County Fair as an elementary student.

Back in 2019, the Maui County Fair drew crowds of tens of thousands of people. Students and staff recalled nostalgic memories like racing down the giant, bright pink, green, and yellow illuminated slides on squishy blue mats, and eating fair foods like flying saucers, funnel cake, cotton candy, fried Oreo’s with ice cream, and popcorn. The wave swinger took them up over the whole fair ground.

Sophomore Romie-Lynn Santos remembers riding the Zipper and “hearing, like, all the people screaming and having fun and that thing. And I remember the ride, like, dropping and moving around and all the lights that would flick around it.”

“Carnival games and the lights, the lights, the flashy lights!” said senior Lation Pascual. “Screaming, laughter, the sound of games being won. A lot of laughter, a lot of fun.” The fair “was a core memory for me,” said Pascual. “I'm excited that it's back.”

It has been six years since people in Maui have gotten to experience the sense of community the fair has brought. Now it is set to open this Thursday, from October 2-5th, 2025 at the War Memorial.

“...a core memory…”

For many alumni, Luna identity is tied to the fair and their participation in it.  Rides, food, games, family and community connections, the parade and more have shaped our students' earliest memories.

The fair had “a pretty big impact, honestly,” said senior Jean Alternado who has been in marching band since he was a freshman. Alternado claims that he originally joined because of the fair–after seeing the band in the opening day parade. “That kind of motivated me to join as a musician,” he said. The fair also meant maturity and independence for Alternado who feels like “it made me grow up to not be shy because my parents would usually let me go by myself. And then I would interact with people.”

For Pagdilao, the fair embodies community. She remembers “a booth that we had, like one of our family friends, they had a booth and it was just like their whole family helping and like, yeah.”

“The Fair has always been a happy place,” said former Student Activities Coordinator, Art Fillazar. It was “like our version of Disneyland but only for the weekend.”

“It was the one time we actually had an amusement park,” said Stephanie Rubio Aguire who remembers going with her family in 2019 before its closure. “It wasn't really an amusement park, but it felt like it for me.”

Sophomore Jade Cabanila thinks the fair was “a place where you actually got to experience a carnival, especially over here. Not a lot of big, amusement kind parks happen here. So the fair is kind of like a place where it's here and you don't have to spend as much money to go to, like these big amusement parks. It's like a home amusement park.”

Kaizan Munemitsu, a freshman, remembers that “it was fun, you know. It made me happy, just, being able to play games, have fun with my family, all that stuff.”

“‘We are Lahainaluna and we were proud of it!”

This year will mark the 98th year the fair has run. The first ever Maui Fair took place on November 30th, 1916. Since then the fair has been interrupted three times by global events. The fair was paused and cancelled due to both World War I and World War II from 1917-1918 and 1942-1946 respectively. Along with the Covid-19 pandemic, it was not held until this year.

In years past, the Lahainaluna community did not only attend the fair. They often participated in it.  According to Fillazar, now the Executive Director of the Lahainaluna High School Foundation, staff and students were part of the parade (as Marching and Pep Band, Cheerleaders) and, “on several occasions” he said, submitted to various exhibits.

Submissions included student artwork, AG displays, and other things. “FFA members may have also been volunteers with the livestock display,” Fillazar thought.

“It was definitely the spirit competitions,” said Ms. Kristy Arakawa, the Early college coordinator about the importance of the fair to Lahainaluna staff and students. Running from 1986-1996, the School Spirit Competition was apparently dominated by our school.

“October 5, 1996 marked the 10th consecutive year that Lahainaluna High School captured the School Spirit Competition trophy” wrote Jana Baybado in Ka Leo Luna, our school’s third newspaper:

From the LHS version of the ‘Macarena’ to the chant that is sung after touchdowns– THIS WAS THE YEAR FOR LAHAINALUNA TO SHINE! Some secret weapons used were: ‘Knock You Out’ and ‘1,2,3,4,!’, hand-held torches, and a large banner that popped up at the end featuring the school motto and the words ‘ IMUA LUNAS’ in big bold letters.

All of the students who attended the competition wore either red or white tops represented the school’s colors. Those wearing red formed an ‘L’ that stood out in the crowd of white. Traditionally the Lunas waved ti leaves, red pom poms, and held numerous signs to show their spirit.

With these spirit boosters plus all of the people who attended the competition, the Lunas were able to bring back the trophy that first made its home here nine years ago. Congratulations Lahainaluna High School–You are #1 in spirit!!

Reflecting on this moment, Fillazar added that “LHS always had the true spirit and desire.

“As students we took pride in our first-place wins,” said Ginny Yasutake, College and Career Counselor. “The massive crowds, matching shirts, and handmade signs weren't just about winning; they were a powerful declaration that “We are Lahainaluna and we were proud of it!”

“The moment we won the School Spirit Competition my senior year of high school–” said Arakawa with meaning. “--no class wants to be the class that loses the School Spirit Competition for Lahainaluna so we literally left our voices in that tent–We were all hoarse after that, but it was worth it.”

Jalen Baraoidan (Mr. B), the Lahainaluna Band and Choir Director, remembers the fair when he participated as a student. “For the parade, you know, the marchers would always participate and always behind the marchers would always be our cheerleaders. So I guess just having the representatives of our school representing in the county fair was always cool. It's just being able to represent the west side in the county fair, which is so, like Central Maui oriented. So I'm just getting to represent West Maui.”

According to Kristina Meguro, a second year member in the marching band, says the marching band was supposed to participate in the parade. Yet, as it was “last minute and confusing, we (the marching band) did not have enough time to prepare. Especially since we have a complicated show to work with this year.”

“...in the process of rebuilding…”

For some students like Marc Ruiz, a freshman, this will be his first time going to the fair. “What I heard about it was that there's like, a lot of activities, there's a lot of food, a lot of people. There's a lot of rides. It's fun. Okay, sounds fun.” Ruiz says that he only knows the fair from Instagram and his friends' stories.

Yet, there is a chance that newcomers to the fair do not get to share that experience that previous students did as families are now facing economic stress from many directions.

Yasutake seems to worry a little about the newest generation of fairgoers when she thinks about its most recent instance. “The fair has become so expensive that you have to really think about your finances and if you can afford it,” she said.

Our recent struggles, specifically, rising inflation made worse by fallout from the 2023 Lahaina Wildfire, give her even more cause for concern. “The rising cost to attend is a significant concern for many families, like mine, that are in the process of rebuilding their home.”

“For its return after a six year absence and with the economy the way it is, I’m not sure how it will ‘fair’,” says Fillazar. “It has always been a challenge with the high expenses.”

Junior Makayla-Yuen Barroga sees the fair’s arrival as a solution to tragedy, however. “It's bringing a community back together after the fire happened and letting people have, like, such a good time.”

For Baraoidan, the legacy of the Maui County Fair is “something different that we have to offer. I think that still plays into it just because when people announce that the county fair is coming back, like a lot of people were really, really excited, really excited. And I don't know if the kids, like, people in high school now even got to experience a county fair. Maybe when they were younger.”

For those who have and have not been, “The return [of the fair] will be different and it’s a fresh start.” Fillazar continues, “I see this is a new beginning.”

Sources

Bayado, Jana. “Ten Years of Tradition Continues.” Ka Leo Luna, 1996.