This year’s Summer Solstice Festival, held on June 13, offered a chance to connect with nature, enjoy healing workshops, and experience community spirit. World-renowned ukulele player Herb Ota Jr. (nicknamed “Junior”) and Takako, one of Hawaii’s leading bodywork therapists, each led a mini workshop.
Thanks to Takako’s simple, do-it-yourself posture-correction exercises and Junior’s mini-ukulele class and impromptu gig, everyone gathered in our forest pavilion (constructed by volunteers with recycled and repurposed materials) was deeply healed, both mentally and physically. Junior and Takako, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to visit our farm event.
Since the Autumnal Equinox Festival in September 2023, our farm’s seasonal events—held every three months, including the Winter Solstice Festival and the Spring Equinox Festival—have now reached their 12th installment with this Summer Solstice Festival. Even in Hawaii, often called “eternal summer islands,” we wanted participants to feel the changing of the seasons firsthand.
We guide them through the changing scenery, with updates on our farm’s progress, and they enjoy a delicious and fun potluck luncheon, featuring dishes made with vegetables and fruits harvested during the event season, as well as the items everyone brought to share, which fill the tables. It started with that intention, and as the number of events has increased, each has gradually developed its own unique character.
During the Spring Equinox Festival, we work together with participants on soil preparation, planting seedlings, and sowing seeds, all while praying for the cycle of nature, the symbiosis of diverse living things, and the healthy growth of our crops. The Summer Solstice Festival features workshops designed to build healthy bodies resilient to the sweltering heat and cultivate a mind in harmony with nature. The Autumn Equinox Festival features recipes made with crops harvested through our natural farming, allowing participants to experience the bounty and the fresh, delicious flavors of this approach.
And then there’s the Winter Solstice Festival at the end of the year, where we reflect on the past year and pray for each other’s health and happiness—in this way, a natural rhythm has gradually taken shape. Every time we met someone who shares our farm’s philosophy, we discussed ideas like, “Could we try something like this at the next event?” and it seems each event’s color of the seasons has naturally come to life.
Our next seasonal event, the Autumnal Equinox Festival, is scheduled for a Saturday in September 2026, when the Ulu (breadfruit) begins to ripen in abundance. If you’ve read this article and are interested in our farm’s mission, we look forward to welcoming you — please get in touch with us via the “Contact Us” page to learn more and join us.
(Photos courtesy of Seiju Nakai and Chihiro Kitagawa)
