Inside Schaefer International Gallery at One Cameron Way, a ceramic kokeshi doll called "Uki-gumo" sits among 97 other works by Hawaiʻi artists. It won Best in Show and a $5,000 award, and seeing it costs nothing. On Friday, November 6, the same campus opens the Hawaiian Airlines Made in Maui County Festival. The festival runs two days and charges $36 or $9 depending on which day you pick.
Most November plans around the Maui Arts & Cultural Center treat the festival as the main event. The gallery show, though, opened first and runs for nine weeks. The gallery is also open during most of both festival days. If you live in Kahului, you can see Maui County's largest products show and Hawaiʻi's longest-running statewide craft exhibition on the same visit, and only the festival charges admission.
What's already on the gallery walls
The Hawaiʻi Craftsmen Annual Statewide Exhibition 2026 opened October 20 and runs through December 23, according to Maui Now. Maui Now reports that this is the 60th consecutive year of the exhibition. The show debuted in September at the Downtown Art Center on Oʻahu and moved to Maui in its entirety.
The selection was strict. Juror Jonathan Yukio Clark, director of Schaefer International Gallery, reviewed 607 entries and chose 98 works by 94 artists. That's about one entry in six. The artists come from Hawaiʻi Island, Kauaʻi, Lānaʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi and Oʻahu, and they work in ceramic, wood, textile, glass, metal and other media. Clark gave out 25 awards. The top four went to artists from three different islands:
- Thurston Twigg-Smith Best in Show, $5,000: Jennifer Fujimoto of Oʻahu, for "Uki-gumo," a large ceramic interpretation of a kokeshi doll
- Elizabeth Rice Grossman Award of Excellence, $2,000: Hannah Shun of Oʻahu, for a hand-shaped sterling silver piece, "Lei of Waves and Fish – Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa · Yellow Tang"
- John Young Award, $1,000: Bon Moore of Kauaʻi, for "Compass," a finger-woven sculpture of coconut husk, hau and sansevieria
- Charles E. Higa Memorial Award of Excellence, $1,000: Masako Joubert of Maui, for the porcelain sculpture "Modern Botanical: Haku Lei #1"
The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and before select Castle Theater shows. Admission is free. Hawaiʻi Craftsmen is a volunteer-run nonprofit founded in 1966. Its first annual exhibition was held at Ala Moana Center in 1967.
The festival that arrives a week from Friday
The gallery shows juried fine craft. The festival is where Maui Nui's makers sell. Maui Now reports that the Hawaiian Airlines Made in Maui County Festival brings more than 140 vendors and food trucks from Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi. Vendors are chosen through a competitive review, and they range from artisans and designers to specialty food producers and manufacturers. The Maui Chamber of Commerce presents the festival, the County of Maui Office of Economic Development supports it, and Hawaiian Airlines is the title sponsor.
Like the gallery show, the festival does business beyond retail. In its first twelve years it drew 4,308 wholesale buyers and 109,044 retail shoppers, Maui Now reports. Pamela Tumpap, president of the Maui Chamber of Commerce, described the 13th year this way in Maui Now's coverage:
"As we mark our 13th year, we're proud to see this event grow into one of the most meaningful platforms for connecting Maui County's businesses with new customers and opportunities."
Some of the work is made close to home. The festival's vendor list says 808 Laser Creations produces its work "here on Maui in their Kahului studio." Other names on the 2026 list include Haleakala Candle Co., Da Beehive, Galleon Chocolate Trade Company, Cochrane's Chocolate / WowWee Maui Candy Bars, Akalei Designs and ARK Ceramics.
Friday or Saturday, and how each day lines up with the gallery
The festival runs in the Alexander & Baldwin Amphitheater and sells two very different days.
| Friday, Nov. 6: Exclusive Shopping Day | Saturday, Nov. 7: Big Festival Day | |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket, all fees included | $36 | $9 |
| Festival hours | 1:30 to 6 p.m. | 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. |
| Food | Two food trucks, until 5:30 p.m. | 12 food trucks |
| Extras | Opening Ceremony, free tote bag | Live entertainment, fashion shows, prize drawings, totes for the first 2,000 attendees |
| Gallery open during the festival | 1:30 to 4 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Parking | MACC and UH Maui College lots | Offsite lots in Kahului and Wailuku, free shuttles |
The gallery-hours row comes straight from the schedules. Schaefer International Gallery closes at 4 p.m. both days. A Friday ticket-holder who arrives at the 1:30 p.m. opening has two and a half hours of overlap with the free exhibition before the gallery closes. Friday visitors also park on campus or at UH Maui College instead of taking a shuttle.
On Saturday, the gallery is open for six of the festival's eight and a half hours. Saturday also has 12 food trucks instead of two. Keiki 12 and under get in free both days. The $27 difference between the days pays for a quieter afternoon and a head start, which the MACC listing describes as "a more leisurely shopping experience."
Tickets went on sale October 1 and are sold online through the MACC. You can also buy them at the MACC Box Office window, which is open Tuesday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. and on show days.
Saturday's shuttle map isn't posted yet
Saturday parking takes the most planning. The festival homepage says Saturday attendees will park at offsite lots in Kahului and Wailuku and ride free shuttle buses, with "more parking and shuttle details coming soon." The MACC's event page also confirms complimentary shuttles between the venue and Kahului and Wailuku.
The festival's separate Saturday parking page still shows directions dated for a Saturday, November 8, which doesn't match this year's Saturday, November 7 festival day. Those pickup spots and times may not carry over to this year, so check the homepage again in the days before November 7 for the 2026 stops and times.
The gallery's calendar after the festival packs up
The festival is gone after Saturday afternoon. The exhibition stays up for six more weeks, and Hawaiʻi Craftsmen and the MACC have scheduled public programs through December:
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 10 a.m. to noon: Observe & Play Family Day, held in honor of Shirley Yokouchi. It's free. Families can view the exhibition, meet some of the artists and try craft media at activity stations.
- Friday, Nov. 20, 5 p.m.: Paper artist and conservator Hiroko Sakurai, whose "Strata Scrolls" is in the show, gives a free slide lecture on washi paper and conservation in the Alexa Higashi Meeting Room. A reception follows.
- Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 21–22: Sakurai teaches a workshop on itajime/origami dye, urauchi paper backing and bookbinding. The workshop is the first event in Hawaiʻi Craftsmen's reimagined ʻAha Hana Lima program, which begins on Maui. Tuition and registration are handled through Hawaiʻi Craftsmen.
- Friday, Dec. 11, 5 p.m.: A free closing gathering at the gallery, where the Audience Choice Award, sponsored by Shaunagh Robbins and decided by visitor votes, is announced.
- Wednesday, Dec. 23: Last day of the exhibition.
Because the Audience Choice Award depends on visitor votes, a gallery visit during festival weekend gives you a vote. You can come back on December 11 to hear which piece won. The vendors who sell at the amphitheater for two days in November and the artists whose work hangs in the gallery through December 23 are both part of the same Maui County maker community, and both are at One Cameron Way in November.
If the festival has you picturing a workbench, a kiln corner or a craft room in your next Kahului home, Freddie D. Cantorna can help you compare floor plans, garages and flexible layouts with that space in mind. Let's Connect.
