North Shore community to cap off summer with Hanalei nonprofit’s Picnic in The Park

Rock climbing, kickball and much more entertainment: Summer on the North Shore of Kaua‘i is coming to an end with The Hanalei Initiative’s third annual Picnic in The Park festival at Wai‘oli Town Park.

The nonprofit Hanalei Initiative is behind a litany of local improvement projects, including the implementation of a recently updated shuttle system to reduce tourism-related traffic woes and ongoing plans to transform a former Church of Latter Day Saints ward into workforce housing.

But the Hanalei Initiative’s free Picnic in the Park festival that falls on the first day of fall, Sept. 22, is all about having fun.

“It’s really an opportunity to show our appreciation to the community that really trusts us in solving these challenges,” said Joel Guy, executive director of The Hanalei Initiative. “We have to make sure the community’s engaged in all these processes.”

Popular social media personality Zavier Cummings – known as “Howsdisguy” on platforms like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok – will emcee this year’s festivities.

Rock climbing and the event’s popular kickball tournament will take place alongside a mobile skatepark assembled on the nearby basketball court. Other offerings will include free food, a bounce house, face painting, caricature artists and an opening hula performance by Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leināʻala.

“The whole community can come, a lot of kids, so it’s definitely a family event,” said Picnic in The Park project manager Paige Guglielmana. “It brings everybody together for a good day of fun.”

The Hanalei Initiative last week established an online shuttle tracker providing live location information.

On June 1, it expanded shuttle operations from Waipā to Hā‘ena State Park in order to service Princeville, where 40% of visitors to Hanalei stay, according to Guy.

The new transportation system includes a transfer point in the heart of Hanalei town. In addition to removing even more cars from the road, the change also has resulted in about 80% of shuttle users making local purchases before continuing their ride, Guy said.

On Aug. 1, The Hanalei Initiative moved from the second floor of Hanalei Center into the former Church of Latter Day Saints ward located nearby. The nonprofit will soon debut a webpage with conceptual renderings of planned workforce housing, and officially launch its three-year capital campaign to acquire the property outright.

The Hanalei Initiative has also assembled a housing committee including State Rep. Luke Evslin (D-16), chair of the House Committee on Housing, Kaua‘i County Council Vice Chair KipuKai Kuali‘i and Deena Moraes, principal of Hanalei School.

As the neighborhood has become an enclave for the wealthy, residents essential to Hanalei’s well-being can no longer afford to move in, Guy previously said.

The project is intended for essential workers like lifeguards, teachers and nurses.

“Let’s make sure that the people that service our community, are housed in our community,” he said.

The North Shore nonprofit is also working to complete a walking path project and to secure grant monies to upgrade neighborhood cesspools prior to a state-mandated 2050 deadline. State and local leaders recently held a town hall in Līhu‘e dedicated to the costly conversion process, which costs homeowners an average of $50,000.

For more information about Picnic in The Park, visit hanaleiinitiative.org or The Hanalei Initiative’s Instagram account.