Andrew Kutsunai (right) of Lahaina Restoration Foundation explains a historical display at Lahaina Plantation Days.

LAHAINA — West Maui’s beloved plantation roots will come to life during the third annual Lahaina Plantation Days on Oct. 20-22, 2011.

Presented by Lahaina Restoration Foundation, the three-day event will be held on the old Pioneer Mill site surrounding the historic smokestack on Lahainaluna Road.

Event hours are 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 20 and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Oct. 21-22.

The festivities will begin on Thursday with a Movie Night featuring the poignant, touching documentary “Great Grandfather’s Drum,” a celebration of Japanese-American culture and history in Hawaii.

A live performance by Maui Taiko will precede the film; gates open at 6:30 p.m.

On Friday and Saturday, the public will enjoy 20 restaurant food booths, beer and wine garden, carnival

games and horse rides for kids, Hawaiian and Japanese cultural areas, farmers’ market, historical displays, plantation exhibits and the best of island entertainment, including Da Braddahs, Makaha Sons and Na Wai Ho`olu`u o ke Anuenue.

“We are humbled by the enthusiastic response Lahaina Plantation Days has received from the community,” said Theo Morrison, Lahaina Restoration

Foundation’s executive director.

“In the last few years, this event has grown exponentially thanks to the many people who have shared their stories about their plantation roots and the hundreds of residents and visitors who have made this event an annual family tradition. It’s truly an event where people of all ages can enjoy, learn and celebrate a bygone era that still touches our hearts today.”

Admission to Lahaina Plantation Days is $3 per night or $5 for a three-day pass.

For tickets and more information, call Lahaina Restoration Foundation at 661-3262 or visit www.LahainaRestoration.org. Tickets

will be available onsite and through the website one month in advance of the event.

Lahaina Plantation Days was originally created to celebrate the lives of the people who worked in the fields, toiled in the mill and lived in the camps during Lahaina’s plantation era from 1860 to 1999.

A prominent feature of the event is the restored Pioneer Mill Company Smokestack and the brick walkway that encircles its base.

The bricks are engraved with names from the community and logos of supporting businesses, which reads as a “who’s who” of Lahaina, then and now. Bricks may be purchased at www.LahainaRestoration.org.

Lahaina Plantation Days is supported in part by Kaanapali Land Management Corp., the county Office of Economic Development and Hawaii Tourism Authority.