Public-Viewing Opportunities Picking Up in South Maui

Beyond the obvious bump in traffic in south Maui, there are other, more subtle indicators that life is slowly returning to normal on the Valley Isle. Seemingly small leisure opportunities of the past, like public art displays, are making a comeback.

Wailea-based painter and artist Diane Appler is thrilled to return this Saturday, April 10, to the Wailea Beach Resort, to paint live before an audience.

“It's so exciting to get back to what we were able to do before all our lives got turned upside down,” Appler said. “It's refreshing to see visitors come back, and to serve them by painting the beautiful images they want captured. I’ve already had a chance to talk to past collectors who are at the hotel again and were looking for me! Great to catch up with them and provide new art.”

Appler is scheduled to set up her wares from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the breezeway near Starbucks at the Wailea Beach Resort - Marriott on Saturday; then again during the same time on Monday, April 19. The resort is at 3700 Wailea Alanui Drive in Wailea.

Visitors can expect to see Appler painting live, which could include custom work upon request, in original oil paintings or premium-quality reproductions using the giclee process (a type of fine-art, high-quality reproduction printing by inkjet).

The need for people to get out and see displays of anything Hawaiian is not lost on some south Maui small businesses. People crave socialization after many months of the pandemic-response lockdowns, local business operators will say.

Up South Kihei Road from Wailea, in central Kihei, Fo Matin eagerly awaits passersby to Coconut Connection, the new business he and girlfriend Jules Hurst started in mid-December.

The couple took the bold step of starting a business from scratch at a time when other small businesses were shuttered due to regulations or lack of customers.

This week right across the street from Kalama Park, Matin is plenty busy in the little temporary booth at the Kihei Market Place chopping ripe coconuts while explaining the virtues of the fruit’s milk and meat to anyone who will stop by and listen.

“These all came from one tree,” Matin says pointing to a cart full of large green, oblong-shaped coconuts. Coconuts are gathered while they look like that, he explains, before workers chop away to get to the round, brown and kind of hairy object most people associate with it. “Almost anywhere on the island, you can find them lying on the ground. They're everywhere.”

Over on the west side of the island, a monthly art show is scheduled to raise funds for a nonprofit preschool serving children ages 3 to 5 in Lahaina. The 2nd Friday Art Show at Down the Hatch restaurant this Friday, April 9, will feature local Maui artist Sela Weissmann The event is 5 to 10 p.m. at 658 Front St. in Lahaina.

Weissmann’s original, high-quality fine art poster prints are created on matte archival paper; and the artist can create personalized pieces on commission by request.

The 2nd Friday Art Show continues to provide the numerous artists on Maui with a platform to present their works for the visiting public.

Down the Hatch welcomes up-and-coming Maui artists for the monthly presentation. For more information, contact DTH via its website, dthmaui.com/down-the-hatch.

If You Get Out

Diane Appler Fine Art (dianeappler.com). Aside from the April 10 and 19 sittings at the Wailea-Marriott resort, Appler’s home studio/gallery is open for appointment most days from noon to 4 p.m. She respects the kama’aina-first program so locals can take advantage of discounts. (She has been vaccinated and respects COVID safety precautions). The studio is at her home in Maui Meadows; contact her via dianeappler.com/contact.

Visit Matin and Hurst at Coconut Connection during daylight hours at Kihei Market Place, 1975 S. Kihei Road. Listen to Matin explain the cocos nucifera, or in Hawaiian, niu, in his ongoing coconut awareness campaign. Also, say hello to Poki, the couple’s mascot umbrella cockatoo ~ a sure hit for kids.

On Friday, support the Children of the Rainbow preschool, a registered nonprofit organization serving young children, by attending the 2nd Friday Art Show at Down the Hatch restaurant, 758 Front St. in Lahaina, from 5 to 10 p.m. See Sela Weissmann’s art via simplyselaa.com, or follow her on Instagram @simplyselaa. Sample of Sela's work: