I finally made it to the Kona Coffee Festival
Aloha Kona!
First let me start by saying… I don’t drink coffee. You’re probably asking yourself, why would anyone go to a coffee festival if they don’t like coffee? Well, thing is… for nearly 10 years I have been invited to judge the Miss Kona Coffee pageant, but due to work conflicts and schedule issues, I haven’t been able to make it. Thankfully, this year I was able to attend and made a full weekend out of it, with lots of sightseeing, special events, judging, eating and adventuring. I even brought along my dear friend, Cameo Fong, so we could celebrate her birthday during this trip.
Congrats to the new Miss Kona Coffee Ariel Enriquez and Miss Aloha Hawaii Keahi Delovio.
From coffee, to crowns and culture… Hawaii Island is abuzz right now with special events centered around the 44th annual Kona Coffee Festival. Kicking off the weeklong event is the annual Miss Kona Coffee and Miss Aloha Hawaii scholarship pageant, a preliminary for the Miss Hawaii and Miss America pageant. As a former Miss Hawaii (2004), this was my first time judging a preliminary pageant, and I was honored to help judge this event and the Kona Coffee Recipe Contest the day after the pageant. See the gallery for more details on that delicious event.
After arriving on Hawaii Island on Thursday, I spent my first day visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (the lava flow is in Pahoa, not anywhere near Halema’uma’u), then taking a quick drive through Hilo and back to Kona. On Friday, I conducted pageant interviews at the Sheraton Kona Resort, then took a tour of Ueshima Coffee Company (UCC). Saturday was a free day, so I swam at the pool, got a massage at the spa, then judged the pageant that night. On Sunday morning, I had the honor of judging the KTA Super Stores Kona Coffee Recipe Contest, which also took place at the Sheraton. Later that day, I went to the beach and drove around Kona with my friend and Kona resident, Kalei Akaka, then had dinner with her parents before heading to the airport.
It was an amazing trip with great experiences, awesome memories, good food and fun! It’s the perfect time of the year to experience Hawaii Island, with so many things to do, see, try and taste — even if you don’t like coffee. Funny thing is I like the flavor of coffee, but the caffeine makes me jittery and nervous. I loved judging the coffee recipe contest, though, because I was able to enjoy the nice flavor of coffee without the overwhelming kick from caffeine. Typically, the Kona Coffee Festival is the first weekend in November. If you love adventure, coffee and good times, check it out next year.
Here’s a look at my Hawaii Island adventures:
