Month: June 2017

July 4th Window Display

Thirty four years ago I took my daughter to her first parade. I thought the Makawao Fourth of July parade would be a good one because it was very small and she would love seeing the horses. Her reaction surprised me. She thought she was supposed to join in and march down the street and be part of the fun. She was confused when I stopped her from running towards the marchers. Good thing it was a small parade then. The horses didn’t disappoint, and it was exciting to see people she knew marching so she could wave at them.

I was reminded of the wonderful community spirit of Makawao’s Fourth of July celebration by the window display at Holiday & Co. boutique. Designed by mother-daughter team Deybra Fair and Melody Koerber, the display takes the art of reuse and repurposing to a new level. Disposable food containers are turned into stars that hang from the ceiling and an old 4H sign cut up into boards directs you to “Nowhere.” Table cloths are elegant dresses and the denim outfit stitched together on the mannequin is turning heads. The Red Rodeo Queen has a crown made from a colander of course and a Rodeo Hipster guy is lucky to have a beard made from hapu’u fern “hair.” Deybra’s little horses in red and blue look on not knowing their importance on this day in this town.

Rodeo Queen with her red crown made from a colander and Rodeo Clown guarding the store
Little red horse got to be in the window next to the denim dressed cowgirl
Behind the scenes looking out at Baldwin Avenue and watching people look in was just as interesting

This window captures it all…humor, imagination and celebration! Kudos to Isabelle Buell, owner of Holiday & Co. for welcoming artists Deybra and Melody to dress the window. Deybra Fair is a versatile Maui artist working in a variety of mediums with a style that is unique and inventive. Her daughter Melody Koerber is a talented costume designer who has worked on the Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lone Ranger movies along with tv shows like Key & Peele.

Deybra Fair at Holiday & Co. in Makawao
Melody Koerber in the Holiday & Co. window

Holiday & Co. is located at 3681 Baldwin Ave. in Makawao. For more information on artists Deybra Fair and Melody Koerber, visit their websites at deybrafair.com and melodycostumes.com.

The 52nd annual Makawao Paniolo Parade is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday July 1st at 9am. The event starts on Baldwin Ave. and continues onto Makawao Ave. For more information, contact Parade Chairman Duane Hamamura at 268-8729 or email dhamamaui@gmail.com.

Oprah: Live Your Best Life

Today Oprah Winfrey gave her first talk on Maui, a free event sponsored by HMSA and Sharecare. “Live Your Best Life” took place in the outdoor amphitheater of the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. While it was a hot day under the sun and there was a lot of waiting for the main event, Oprah’s talk was ultimately inspiring and I was glad to have had the opportunity to see her in person. Expecting to hear more of an advertisement for the sponsors, I was pleasantly surprised to instead get a solid hour of stories from Oprah that spoke to the importance of embracing our own energy and purpose in the world.

Arriving at the MACC a half hour before the doors opened, traffic was backed up all the way to Kaahumanu Ave. The line of people waiting to get in snaked down the sidewalk and around the corner onto Kahului Beach Road, continuing to grow. I heard folks mentioning that they’d never seen this big of a crowd lined up at the MACC. Is there anyone more popular than Oprah?

As soon as the gates opened at 10:00am, the line moved pretty quickly and entrance was well organized. During the first two hours of the event, the crowd was entertained by live music and appearances by HMSA’s Senior Vice President and Trini Kaopuiki from KHON2 News.

Around noon, Oprah took the stage. She explained that she’d been encouraged by Dr. Oz to give a talk on Maui. Because one of her homes is here Upcountry, she wanted to reach out to her neighbors. While Dr. Oz and Oprah are both investors in Sharecare, an internet health resource and app, the talk was not focused on that. It really was a motivating collection of narratives that summed up her thoughts on how to live our best lives.

She spoke about how each of us can use our unique personality to “serve the energy of the soul” and find power in being a part of something bigger than ourselves. She talked about how everyone wants to live the highest, fullest expression of themselves as a human being. Using stories from her talk show days, she described how she came to believe so strongly in the power of intention. What you put out into the world is what’s coming back, and the intention behind every action determines the outcome. Deciding to use television to inspire people rather than being used by tv strictly for entertainment, Oprah found greater success and personal fulfillment. In her words, she wanted to “shift the paradigm,” and she encourages others to use their talents to serve a higher calling. “It will change your life,” she explained.

Talking of her days growing up too poor to have Christmas presents and of how the nuns from the church brought food and toys to her family, she shared the reasons that she wanted to give back and do positive things for others, like building the Leadership Academy school for girls in South Africa. She also told of the common thread found in all of her interactions and interviews with people from all walks of life…everybody just wants to know that they’ve been heard and that what they’ve said means something.

Oprah described how the thing that changed her life the most is gratitude. Focus on what you’re grateful for and it will change your vibration and frequency in the world. She let the audience know that what she really wants to hear about herself from others is that she is content. She concluded with a story of Maya Angelou telling her that she couldn’t know yet what her legacy would be. “Your legacy is every life you touch,” Oprah said, “You leave your hand and heart print on the world.”