Well, the big Made In Hawaii Festival is this week! This is my first time ever participating in this magnificent event. This is probably the biggest craft show of the year and all things are Made In Hawaii. The dates for the Made In Hawaii Festival are November 11, 12, and 13, 2022. The hours are 11/11 10-6 PM, 11/12 9-6 PM, and 11/13 9-5 PM. Everyone needs a ticket to enter. It takes place at the Ala Moana Shopping Center on the 4th Floor of the Mauka Ewa Parking Structure. So, this festival is now 5 days away and here are my thoughts on how I am preparing for this huge event. First, I am really humbled to be a part of this festival. There will be so many wonderful artisans, chefs, entertainers. This will be my first ever 3-day event and I am hoping that I can have the endurance to give it my all there.

Here are some of the things I have done and am doing to prepare for this event. This event is the largest event I have ever participated in. Upwards of 40,000 people are anticipated to be in attendance. Here are my steps and tips for preparing for this large event and I suppose after this event is finished, I will have greater insights into what worked and what could be improved upon for the future.

• Firstly, I read the thick manual of all of the rules and regulations and made sure that I am in compliance. This includes—

  • Liability insurance with the specifically named entities listed

  • General Excise Tax License

  • Formula sheets to ensure that my items meet the qualifications of being Made In Hawaii

  • Quality photos of my products

  • Social Media listings

• The manual covers everything from Exhibitor Booth Package Inclusions, Accomodations, Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations, Booth location & personnel, cargo & shipping, Covid 19 Health Safety, Eating & Drinking by Exhibitors, Electricity, Elevators, Emergency Protocol and Evacuation Plan, Exhibior Entrance, Fire Extinguishers, Fork Lifts, Indemnification, Loading In/Setting Up/Move-In, Loading Out/Breakdown/MoveOut, Loading Dock, Parking and Traffic Flow, Plastic Bag Law and Bag Fee, Public Address System, Product Donations for Promotional Giveaways, Refrigeration/Freezer/Storage, Restrooms, Security, Storage and Re-Stocking of Merchandise, Tickets, Trade Show-Buyers Invitation, Trash, Water-Ice, Wi-fi, and other things to consider.

• Each vendor should comb through the very detailed manual.

• The formual sheets are used to determine Made In Hawaii Status. This entails going through each and every product you make and will be selling figuring out the materials cost, labor and other costs and filling out a formula sheet for each item. I used an excel sheet where I just plug in the numbers and the formula is automatically calculated. This formula sheet needed to be sent to the Made In Hawaii Festival staff and one needs to be printed out and kept on hand throughout the duration of the festival.

• Next, from the time we were notified of acceptance into the festival, a lot of merchandise and products needed to be made. This time period encompased approximately 5 months. This is something I could not fathom. Having been a crafter for the past 8 years, I have always made products right before each craft fair. I have never had any back stock. So I set out on my journey to make as many products as I could given the time period.

• Speaking to other vendors who have participated in the past, they were all wiped out at the end of the three long day festival. Vendors were offered hotel room rates at a huge discounted rate so I decided to take advantage of this and booked two nights at the Ala Moana Hotel to be able to rest inbetween and also to avoid the long commutes to and from the festival each day (yes, that amounts to about an hour and a half each day in Hawaii).

• So, now it is five days away from the festival, move-in day is 3 days away. I took all of my stuff needed and put them all into large Ikea Bags to make transporting and storing easier. I went through my checklist of everything needed and now everything is packed and ready. Considering the event is taking place in a covered parking garage I made sure to pack battery-powered lights. Videos from the previous year at the same location look rather dark. I am hoping everything fits into my car!

• Tickets purchased and registered, check. Helpers assigned, check.

• Now, I am waiting with eager anticipation for this awesome event and this is a really historic time for Gifts By Karen M. I hope to see my loyal customers as well as meet new customers there.

• I will post a blog on how it was at my very first Made In Hawaii Festival! Thanks for tuning in here!