1st Annual Kava Peace Festival – Kona Fun

The First Annual Kava Peace Festival at the old airport in Kona was a fun time to meet friends, old and new, as we enjoyed tasting the kava and awa mixtures!

A little about the awa plant: Awa (Piper methysticum), a member of the pepper family, grows in the wild now and is also cultivated increasingly throughout the Pacific Islands, where it is called Kava or Kava Kava. This plant grows well at low elevations where there is constant moisture and partial sun. More than a dozen varieties of ‘awa were known in old Hawai`i.

In the old days, it is said that the chiefs and priests were the principal users of `awa, but in more recent times, it has been taken to use by all the people. Those who perform strenuous work especially appreciate its properties as a relief for stiffness, tenseness, and fatigue in the muscles.

`Awa is a muscle relaxant to weary farmers, fishermen, hunters, and paddlers. Spiritual leaders use `awa ceremonially at appointed times, such as at a ritual following a canoe race-meet. It is a social tradition and an offering of gratitude to the divine, both before and after events and festivals in the life of the people. Read more about the ‘awa plant here.

Locals and non-locals alike enjoy kava because of its medicinal and agricultural benefits. There were awa professionals on-site to explain the benefits of growing awa, and there were also different booths from New Zealand and Hawaii offering kava samples, and different styles and tastes of making this revered drink of the natives.

Broker-friend, Charles Hosley, (pictured above) enjoyed the Kava and shares many of the same circles of friends as I do. He is also studying Lemuria and was telling me about how intertwined the Pacific Islander cultures are with other South American cultures.

We discussed planning a trip to view pyramids here on the Big Island, and also taking a look at some properties that could be potential “eco-villages,” a big dream that all of our sustainable-conscious friends hope to create together in the near future, with awa growing as one part of the pharmaceutical agriculture crop of the village.

The entertainment was awesome! Miki played her slang ukulele and Sahra with her bush-mama rocked the pavillion. Randyl Rupar and the Mana Kea Sanctuary are the sponsors of this festival, and they also promote the successful avocado festivals and mango festivals, as well as organic and sustainable, holistic ways of living and being.

The festival offered fruit and kava and water for sale, but I chose the barbecue chicken plate—and it was “ono”-licious! As I enjoyed the music and this wonderful meal, it felt like being in heaven on Earth…everyone was so nice!

I met a lot of new people—I ended up buying some cacao products from a young lady who just moved here, and from her, got invited to a full-moon drum circle at a beautiful farm estate in Kealakekua. These festivals are primarily places to meet people and network as a community of valuable resources, and also educate myself with the latest community movements that interest me as well as my clients.

I’m looking forward to the 2nd Annual Kava Peace Festival when more people come to have fun and enjoy the Big Island’s natural health resources and the sacred awa!

Blessings and Aloha!