Maui Mompreneur was founded by Luana HueSing- Ammasi (left) and Jovina Ka‘eo.

KAHULUI — A beloved local shopping event marks a ten-year milestone this spring.

Maui Mompreneur has long been a place to find handmade crafts, jewelry, art, baked goods and creative gift ideas.

Organizers have recently added some fun keiki activities and interactive fun as a mahalo to their supporters.

“We can’t believe how quickly time has flown by,” said event co-founder Luana HueSing-Ammasi. “We’re always grateful for the chance to support so many local vendors, and our new venue gives everyone plenty of room to shop!”

Started back in 2013, Maui Mompreneur happens twice a year: in winter and spring. In December 2022, it moved to a new home at the University of Hawaii Maui College (UHMC) in Kahului.

UHMC will soon host the spring event for the first time, from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, and between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 30.

“We do our best to welcome as many different vendors as we can,” explained co-founder Jovina Ka’eo.

“This time, we’ll have 35 vendors at the Pa’ina Building — both inside and outside — then 30 more in the Pilina Building, which is the Student Lounge.”

Proceeds from the event will benefit UHMC’s popular culinary program housed in the Pa’ina Building.

HueSing-Ammasi is a former student of the program.

“It always feels good to give back,” she added, “and on our ten-year mark, we wanted to do something special for the people of Maui who’ve supported us over so many years.”

Mompreneur has a tradition of featuring a nonprofit table at each event to help build awareness in the community. This time, keiki from the Maui Hui Mālama Youth Entrepreneurship Program will showcase products from their Maui Hui Makeke.

Youth receive training in Hawaiian cultural values related to entrepreneurship, and gain essential business knowledge on budgeting, sales and market research as they develop their own ideas. Next, they put their lessons into practice by creating products for the pop-up markets that they organize themselves.

For the first time, Mompreneur will feature an interactive Shopping Bingo game, where guests are given bingo cards with 25 vendor logos, stamping their squares when they visit those booths. They’ll turn in completed cards for the chance to win hourly prize drawings with items donated by the vendors (shoppers must be present to win).

There will also be free photo booth, face painting and balloon twisting for shoppers, along with a deejay playing music outside. Food will be a larger component this time than in past events, with a number of food trucks, including Pastele House, Al’s BBQ Pit, Wailemi, Nonoy, Yumtastic and Maiani Coffee Company.

There will also be various food tents with treats like waffle dogs, cotton candy and plate lunches.

“There are a lot of new small businesses in our community, and we love to give everyone we can a chance,” said Ka’eo, who started Mompreneur with friend and fellow vendor HueSing-Ammasi, aiming to create a valuable vendor experience and showcase quality local products.

Learn more and get updates at the Maui Mompreneur Events Instagram page.