Downtown Līhuʻe Night Market

By Léo Azambuja

Alakoko store founder Krystl Apeles, left, and Downtown Līhu‘e Night Market event coordinator Lexi Jones. Photo by Léo Azambuja

A good street party is always welcome, especially for the hard-working folks in the largest business quarters of Kaua‘i. Since its first edition only a few months ago, the Downtown Līhuʻe Night Market keeps growing and attracting more people each month.

“We have live music and vendors showcasing products and services, and Kaua‘i-made items specifically,” said event coordinator Lexi Jones, adding Zero Waste Kaua‘i also attends the block party to ensure everything is recycled or used for compost. “Part of our mission is, we’re trying to keep a sustainable Kaua‘i.”

Since August, on every second Saturday of the month, this vibrant street party has been breathing life into the recent revitalization of Līhuʻe, especially around Rice Street. From 4 to 8 p.m., about three dozen local vendors fill up Kress Street, a short street tucked in between Rob’s Good Times Grill and the Kaua‘i Beer Company.

There’s live music in two different locations and food vendors spread throughout the entire street. Hundreds of people — local residents and visitors — come to support vendors showcasing Kaua‘i-made crafts, skincare products, local honey, ethnic foods, home-made ice cream, clothing, artwork, jewelry, home decoration items, family games and much more.

The Downtown Līhuʻe Night Market on Kress Street attracts many local residents. Photo by Léo Azambuja

The first Downtown Līhuʻe Night Market was started by the Rice Street Business Association and Krystl Apeles, founder of the community nonprofit retail store Alakoko on Kress Street. Apeles credited RSBA President Addison Bulosan for taking the leadership in pushing for the creation of the night market last year.

“He’s a lot braver than I am,” said Apeles, adding Bulosan told her the people of Kaua‘i needed this, and it was important that they made a push for it. Apeles got involved in the project when Bulosan, Apele’s high school classmate, asked her if she was interested in putting together a monthly night market in Līhuʻe. She quickly agreed, saying this had always been on her list of things to do.

“Basically, it was a month before the first one, and I was, ‘Oh, my God, what did I get myself into,’” said Apeles, laughing. Luckily for her, the first market got pushed back a month, giving Apeles a little more time to plan.

“I love every single one of these people, meeting them and going through the process of getting to know their businesses, especially in a time that we were all kind of in need. We were able to all create and do a successful event. I love it, it was really heartwarming.” Apeles said.

Little McKFarm owners Kylie McKnight, left, and Donya McKnight. Photo by Léo Azambuja

A lot of vendors tell her they are surprised how many locals attend the event. In other pop-ups, they told her, there aren’t many locals. But at the Līhuʻe Night Market, they show up and are not afraid to spend money. Going forward, she said, with the COVID-19 rules and restrictions being lifted, there will be a stronger marketing push to bring more visitors to the market.

“With the (COVID-19) restrictions in the beginning, we had to try to keep a balance. We didn’t want it to be overcrowded,” said Apeles, adding they were fortunate to be able to navigate safely through the pandemic. “But yes, we’re hoping now to ramp up and welcome back our visitors.”

Sometime after opening the Downtown Līhuʻe Night Market, Apeles’ request for a grant for a community nonprofit retail store was approved by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority. The grant allowed her to open Alakoko, offering locally designed and handcrafted products. Apeles has since passed the role of the market’s event coordinator to Jones so she could focus on the store.

“I’m the one who rallies our vendors, brings them to the street, assigns them all of the details and gets the road clean and set for them to participate,” Jones said.

Musicians Rheif Callahan, left, and Frank Cruz. Photo by Léo Azambuja

The night market fits right into the recent revitalization of Līhu‘e as a pedestrian-friendly town. In 2015, the County of Kaua‘i was selected to receive the federal TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant of $13.8 million. Out of 627 communities applying for the grant, Kaua‘i was one of only 39 communities picked by the federal government. With another $2 million added by the county administration, Līhuʻe went through a major revitalization, making the town much more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly.

The areas benefited by the TIGER grant go from Līhuʻe Library on the north to Rice Camp on the south, and from the Līhuʻe Civic Center on the west to Vidinha Stadium on the east.

“I think it’s important to change the narrative that surrounds this part of town,” Jones said. “We’re trying to make it an art-driven center.”

Every Friday evening, dozens of artists come to the Aloha Friday Art Night to create vibrant murals on Kress Street. There are two huge warehouses on each side of the street — one of them the former home of the Salvation Army — that will likely become an art center of some sort.

Kaua‘i Family Café crew Tristan Lagazo and Aida Abela. Photo by Léo Azambuja

Jones said these events, the monthly night market and the weekly art night, provide leisure options for the community, while supporting sustainable practices and fostering opportunities for island entrepreneurs to showcase their services and products.

“It’s something fun to do for free,” Jones said. “It’s family fun, everyone can come and check it out.”

Going forward, with COVID-19 restrictions being lifted, the night market will be able to accommodate even more vendors. The vision, Jones said, is for the night market to grow and continue to be lively, supporting musicians and vendors. The support from businesses, financial institutions, vendors and the community, she said, is what really made everything come to life.

“I just want to express extreme gratitude to the community and to the team behind the scenes that work really diligently to keep the market running forward,” Jones said.

The Downtown Līhuʻe Night Market is every second Saturday of the month from 4 to 8 p.m. Visit www.dowtownlihue.com for more information and to download a vendor application.

The website also lists an array of events, including Bikes on Rice on second Saturdays, Plant Swap Sundays, Aloha Friday Art Nights, Plant Pa‘ina on third Wednesdays, Small Business Mentoring on third Wednesdays at Alakoko, and more.