{"id":124062,"date":"2025-09-05T11:37:38","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T21:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaii.com\/?p=124062"},"modified":"2025-09-05T11:53:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T21:53:07","slug":"eat-local-o%ca%bbahus-banana-festival-serves-over-a-dozen-varieties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaii.com\/eat-local-o%ca%bbahus-banana-festival-serves-over-a-dozen-varieties\/","title":{"rendered":"Eat Local: O\u02bbahu\u2019s Banana Festival Serves Over a Dozen Varieties\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"bunches<\/a>

Photo by Sarah Burchard<\/p><\/div>\n

Despite what you see in the grocery store, there are thousands of varieties of bananas. Hawai\u02bbi has at least 150 of them. If you\u2019ve only had the ubiquitous cavendish, it’s time to expand your horizons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On September 21, Slow Food O\u02bbahu will host its annual Banana Festival, or <\/span>Ka Mai\u2018a \u2018Ho\u2018olaule\u2018a<\/span><\/i>. The event celebrates one of Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s original canoe crops with chef tastings, banana stalk printing, a banana cook-off and a tasting station featuring a diverse selection of bananas in different flavors, colors, sizes and textures. The festival will be held at Windward Community College from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with a special presentation by Gabe Sacher-Smith, owner of Hawaii Banana Source and co-sponsor of the festival, at 1 p.m. Guests can purchase tickets <\/span>online<\/span><\/a> for $10 or at the door for $12. Children under 12 get in for free.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sacher-Smith said he expects to have around 15 varieties for guests to taste, maybe more if you count the bunches galore that will be hanging around the perimeter of the festival. It really is a sight to behold.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"sliced<\/a>

Photo by Sarah Burchard<\/p><\/div>\n

Where do bananas come from?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Visitors to Hawai\u02bbi may be surprised to know that bananas \u2013 <\/span>mai\u02bba<\/span><\/i> in Hawaiian \u2013\u00a0are more local than pineapple. Neither are indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands, but bananas arrived with the first Polynesians \u2013 by way of Southeast Asia \u2013 in the 13th century, whereas pineapple \u2013 native to Brazil and Paraguay \u2013 was introduced by a Spanish advisor to the King in the early 1800s. The pineapple industry, established in the 1880s, may have been an economic boon to the islands until 2008, but bananas still flourish islandwide. According to the Hawai\u02bbi Department of Agriculture, Hawai\u02bbi grew 4.73 million pounds of bananas in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

What types of bananas grow in Hawai\u02bbi?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The apple banana, with its signature tart green apple flavor, is the most widely known and grown in Hawai\u02bbi. Sacher-Smith said no other variety even comes close. But take a walk on his farm on the North Shore of O\u02bbahu and you will find varieties such as red cuban, rose, yangambi, racadag, namwah, ice cream, silk, goldfinger, iholena, p\u014dp\u014d \u02bbulu, saba, pineapple, mysore, maoli, bluefield, praying hands, tuu ghia, pisang lilin, williams and red burro. He even grows gros michele \u2013 the original ubiquitous banana before the Panama disease wiped out commercial production in Central and South America in the mid 20th century \u2013 and, of course, cavendish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"banana<\/a>

Photo by Sarah Burchard<\/p><\/div>\n

What can I expect to find at the Banana Festival?<\/b><\/h3>\n

There is so much to experience at the Banana Festival. Whether you are there to geek out, buy your first banana plant or just eat, the festival will keep you engaged all afternoon.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bananas to eat<\/b><\/h4>\n