Na Kamali‘i Nani O Lahaina will perform at the 144th Birthday Celebration of the Banyan Tree.

LAHAINA – LahainaTown Action Committee will host the 144th Birthday Celebration of the Banyan Tree on Saturday and Sunday, April 22-23, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Banyan Tree Park.

The event will feature a birthday cake; 25 Maui artists; Magician Brenton Keith and his bag of tricks; music by the Kalama Ukulele kids, Maui Jam, Kulewa, and Haiku Hillbillys; and keiki hula by Na Kamali’i Nani O Lahaina. Call 667-9175 for information.

A landmark in Lahaina, the Banyan Tree was planted by Sheriff William Owen Smith on April 24, 1873, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first missionaries.

Brought from India, the tree was only eight feet high at the time it was planted. It now has a dozen main trunks and spreads over two-thirds-of-an-acre.

The Banyan Tree has grown by dropping roots from its branches, which then become additional trunks.