“Love the West Maui Greenway Day” on Earth Day featured entertainment and activities for all ages.

LAHAINA – On Earth Day, close to 450 people came together to celebrate the first annual “Love the West Maui Greenway Day” organized by the West Maui Greenway Alliance and the Maui Bicycling League.

The event was intended to raise awareness and build support for the proposed 25-mile West Maui Greenway project.

In the morning, attendees participated in “Get Fit the Green Way” activities, including yoga led by Sookie Kunst, hula hooping skills with Cirque Jolie and greenway exploration rides provided by RideSmart Maui, Boss Frog’s and West Maui Cycles.

Event guests joined thousands of others across the world by engaging in a March for Science, led by Mark Deakos, founder of the Hawaii Association for Marine Education and Research (HAMER).

Keiki participated in a bike rodeo and bike safety training with the county Parks Department and Maui Police Department. Face painting, a group art project and jumping on the bouncy house were among the other popular keiki activities.

In addition, attendees participated in plein air painting with Maui School of Art, stopped by educational booths and heard from guest speakers Donald Couch, Joy Burau, Roz Baker, Elle Cochran and Angus McKelvey.

Local culture was celebrated with a hula show by Old Lahaina Luau, traditional Hawaiian music by local artist Anthony Pfluke and chanting by Maui Nei’s Wainani Kealoha and Keoki Sousa. The afternoon entertainment included performances by Melinda Carroll, Fred’s Garage, Heather Hirshson and “Burn’n Love’s” Darren “Elvis” Lee.

According to Saman Dias, co-founder and chair of Maui Bicycling League, “We are excited that the first annual ‘Love the West Maui Greenway Day’ was a success.

“Nearly 100 community members participated in bike and walk exploration rides, and the variety of activities involved people of all ages. The event was well organized and ran smoothly with Emcee Kathy Collins keeping the agenda on track. We are very grateful to our sponsors, alliance partners, participants and volunteers for their support. Given it was our first event, we plan to incorporate feedback from the community to make next year even better and look forward to making this celebration one of the best events on West Maui.”

Stay updated on the progress of this project by following the West Maui Greenway Facebook page and website at westmauigreenway.org. To volunteer or get involved, e-mail maui@hbl.org.

This first-time event was made possible by sponsors Hawaii Tourism Authority, Kaiser Permanente, Na Ala Hele, Boss Frog’s Maui, RideSmart Maui, Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset, Maui Chamber of Commerce, AARP, Hope Builders LLC and the Linn Family.