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.
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.
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.