Each November the gift shop at Hui Noʻeau Visual Arts Center outgrows itself. For Hui Holidays, the Hui says, "we expand the gift shop into the much larger gallery, and fill the space with as many local vendors as we can find." Ceramics, textiles, jewelry, keiki gifts, bath and body products and ornaments fill the rooms at the Kaluanui estate on Baldwin Avenue until Christmas Eve.
Hui Holidays is one stop on Upcountry's holiday fair circuit. Seen from a parking lot on Lower Kula Road or Olinda Road, the circuit can look like the same craft fair held over and over. Each fair sends its money somewhere different. The Waldorf faire puts every dollar into tuition aid, and Kula's festival returns its proceeds to Kula School students. Hui Holidays splits its sales between artists and an arts center, and ʻUlupalakua Ranch passes its proceeds to an outside nonprofit. The Olinda Road market names no beneficiary at all. When you buy a wreath, the date and the address decide what that wreath pays for.
The 2026 Calendar and Where the Money Goes
| Date | Event | Location | Where proceeds go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Kaonoulu Ranch Halloween Market | Oskie Rice Event Center, 523 Olinda Rd., Makawao | No beneficiary listed |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | St. Joseph Early Learning Center Christmas Craft Fair | 1294 Makawao Ave., Makawao | Listed as a fundraiser |
| Nov. 20 to Dec. 24 | Hui Holidays | Hui Noʻeau, 2841 Baldwin Ave., Makawao | Local artists and Hui Noʻeau |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Kaonoulu Ranch Market | Oskie Rice Event Center | No beneficiary listed; free |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Kula School Harvest Festival | Kula Elementary, 5000 Kula Hwy. | Kula School students |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Kaluanui Holiday Night Market | Hui Noʻeau | Ticketed; artists and the Hui |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Haleakalā Waldorf School Holiday Faire | 4160 Lower Kula Rd., Kula | All proceeds to tuition assistance |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Hui Santa Workshop | Hui Noʻeau | $5-per-car suggested donation |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | Christmas in the Country | ʻUlupalakua Ranch | Friends of the Children's Justice Center of Maui |
| Sun., Dec. 20 | Kaonoulu Ranch Market | Oskie Rice Event Center | No beneficiary listed; free |
The oldest fairs on this list are tied to schools and raise money for those schools. The newer events pass their money along to someone else or keep no shared pot at all. The calendar runs roughly in that order, from the oldest model to the newest.
A Faire That Has Funded Tuition Aid Since 1985
Haleakalā Waldorf School has held its Holiday Faire since 1985. The school calls it its top fundraiser. The school also says it is the only community fundraiser it holds where 100% of the money raised goes to its Tuition Assistance Program. That makes the money easy to follow. A ticket, a bake-sale loaf or a hand-dipped candle bought on the Lower Kula Road campus becomes tuition aid for a family at the school.
The school describes the faire as "the most festive holiday craft and fun Faire on Maui." Its program has stayed recognizable for decades: local and international craft vendors, a farmers market, puppetry, an elf parade, candle making and wreath making. Maui Family Magazine's 2026 winter roundup lists this year's faire for Saturday, Dec. 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with live entertainment, a silent auction, wreaths and crafts, a bakery, children's games, a puppet show and food.
The faire is more than forty years old because the thing it pays for comes back every year. Tuition is due every year, so the faire has a reason to return every December.
Kula's Festival Fills a Country Store
A few miles away, the Kula School Harvest Festival follows a similar model on a public school campus. It runs Saturday, Nov. 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kula Elementary. The school's flyer lists admission as free. In its listing in Maui Family Magazine's winter roundup, the festival says all proceeds go directly back to Kula School students. A Kula PTA post called the 2013 festival the 26th annual, so the festival has been running for decades, nearly as long as the Waldorf faire.
The way Kula raises money matches what Kula grows. The festival's attractions page describes a country store selling farm produce, flowers, plants and baked goods. There is a petting farm with turkeys, mini horses, ducks and sheep. Keiki can ride ponies, get their faces painted, play games and jump in bouncy castles. Restaurant Row brings in local food trucks, and a market street of local businesses and artisans sells clothing, jewelry, ceramics, home goods and snacks.
The St. Joseph Early Learning Center Christmas Craft Fair on Nov. 14 belongs to the same family of school-hosted events. Maui Family Magazine lists it as a fundraiser running from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. The magazine's winter roundup places it at 1294 Makawao Ave., with a keiki zone from 8 to 10 a.m., Santa from 10 to 11 a.m. and live music from 11 a.m. to noon, along with a bake sale, crafts and vendors. The fair has been running for years. A 2012 Maui Family Magazine weekend guide listed Portuguese bean soup, malasadas, pork adobo, Spam musubi and pancit among the foods that year.
At Hui Noʻeau, the Money Is Split Two Ways
Hui Holidays sends its money in two directions. On its event page, the Hui calls it "an annual tradition that gives back to our community by supporting both local artists and Hui No'eau," and it has set itself the goal of adding more local vendors each year. The County of Maui Office of Economic Development helps support the event. The expanded shop runs from Friday, Nov. 20, through Thursday, Dec. 24, Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The schools hold one big day. The Hui spreads its season across three kinds of events:
- Kaluanui Holiday Night Market, Thursday, Dec. 3, 5 to 8 p.m. This is a ticketed "First Night" at the decorated Kaluanui estate, with drinks, bites and vendors who appear for that night only. The Hui says ticket details are still to come.
- Hui Holidays Santa Workshop, Saturday, Dec. 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Hui suggests a $5-per-car donation, and Santa visits from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- The shop itself, open six days a week for more than a month, so a gift can wait until mid-December.
The Hui is the only stop on the circuit that stays open between fairs.
The Newest Fair Gives Its Money Away
At the far south end of Upcountry, Christmas in the Country at ʻUlupalakua Ranch works differently from the school fairs. The ranch hosts the event, and the proceeds go to a separate nonprofit. For 2026 that beneficiary is Friends of the Children's Justice Center of Maui, which the ranch says is "partnering with us once again." The ranch says last year's event raised more than $7,500 in charitable contributions. Past events also filled multiple containers with food donations for families in need. In 2025, Maui Now reported that proceeds were shared between Friends of the Children's Justice Center and the Maui Food Bank.
The same Maui Now article called the 2025 event the second annual, so the Dec. 13 event is only the third. The Waldorf faire was already almost forty years old when ʻUlupalakua held its first one. This year's event runs Sunday, Dec. 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Maui Family Magazine's roundup lists vendors, food, keiki activities, live music, Santa photos, hayrides, a petting zoo, sheep-herding demonstrations and $5 admission, with children under 12 free. The ranch's own page says its full 2026 event information is coming soon, so those details may change before December. In the meantime, the ranch notes that its Ulupalakua Ranch Store is still serving its famous burgers.
The Market With No Named Beneficiary
The Oskie Rice Event Center on Olinda Road is the last model on the circuit. The Kaonoulu Ranch Market is a free community event with local crafters, jewelers, vendors and food. Its page lists Nov. 20 and Dec. 20, 2026, with general market hours of 4:30 to 8 p.m., and names no beneficiary. It is the one stop on the circuit where your money goes only to the person across the table.
The first of these evening markets comes this Friday, Oct. 30. Maui Family Magazine's Halloween listings include the Kaonoulu Ranch Halloween Market from 4:30 to 8 p.m. at Oskie Rice, where visitors can come in costume and trick-or-treat at the vendor booths. It falls five days after the Oskie Rice Memorial Rodeo weekend, which ran Oct. 23 to 25 at the same arena.
Where the Dates Overlap
The dates fall in two clusters, and each cluster brings several of these models within a short drive of one another.
- Friday, Nov. 20, and Saturday, Nov. 21. Hui Holidays opens on Baldwin Avenue Friday morning, and the Kaonoulu Ranch Market runs Friday evening up Olinda Road. On Saturday the Kula School Harvest Festival opens at 9 a.m. That is three funding models in about 24 hours: artists and an arts center, the vendors themselves, and a public school's programs.
- Thursday, Dec. 3, through Sunday, Dec. 13. This stretch includes the Hui's Night Market, the Waldorf faire on Dec. 5, the Santa Workshop on Dec. 12 and Christmas in the Country on Dec. 13. The last two fall on back-to-back days, one in Makawao and one at ʻUlupalakua.
The Dec. 20 Kaonoulu Ranch Market is the last scheduled market before the Hui's shop closes on Christmas Eve.
If you are planning your holiday weekends around these fairs, or have one we missed, Caleb would be glad to hear from you. Caleb A. Palmer was born on Maui and has followed Upcountry's community events for most of his life. Let's Connect.
