01-30-2014, 04:29 AM
Let's all take a moment to "embrace diversity".
Rule #1: This place is not going to change to suit your lifestyle. Adapt, find a more suitable community, or leave the island.
As each subdivision has its unique flavor, so every "farmers' market" is different. Find the one you like, visit the others if you want.
If you need a completely "sanitized" experience, there's always the Hilo Coffee Mill on Saturday mornings; they do not tolerate drugs, or violence, or any vendor who does not have all their permits. The market is small, but the grounds are lovely.
Makuu is bigger, and more diverse (but still no drugs or violence). Unlike the others, it is not strictly a "farmers' market", so there's lots of other stuff. (Makuu is on DHHL land, so doesn't have to comply with County zoning that might limit the scope of their "market".)
SPACE (assuming County is graciously "allowing" them to have it) is like a little slice of Santa Cruz, and probably the most "keiki-friendly" (semi-enclosed grassy area with climbing structure out back), with the "smoking area" discreetly off to the side. Saturday mornings. Recommend the sourdough pancakes.
Kalani has a range of activities that may or may not include a market; far as I know, their land-use battles with County are mostly a thing of the past.
Hilo market is more "tourist-oriented", with lots of prepared food; from Puna, it's far, and parking is a challenge... but I don't know where else to get coconut tapioca.
Uncle Robert's is more "festival" than "market", very much like the "parking lot scene" at a Grateful Dead or String Cheese Incident concert.
Various subdivisions were also having their own local markets until County stepped in to "clarify" the land-use restrictions. Basically, any non-agricultural use of Ag-zoned land requires a "Special Use Permit"; any "market" is considered a "commercial retail activity", even if it's purely agricultural. (Ironically, Ag zoning grants you the right to sell your own produce at a "fruit stand" along your road frontage, but if several people do it together at the local community center, it becomes a regulated activity, requiring permits for the site as well as detailed excise-tax record-keeping for the vendors.)
Rule #1: This place is not going to change to suit your lifestyle. Adapt, find a more suitable community, or leave the island.
As each subdivision has its unique flavor, so every "farmers' market" is different. Find the one you like, visit the others if you want.
If you need a completely "sanitized" experience, there's always the Hilo Coffee Mill on Saturday mornings; they do not tolerate drugs, or violence, or any vendor who does not have all their permits. The market is small, but the grounds are lovely.
Makuu is bigger, and more diverse (but still no drugs or violence). Unlike the others, it is not strictly a "farmers' market", so there's lots of other stuff. (Makuu is on DHHL land, so doesn't have to comply with County zoning that might limit the scope of their "market".)
SPACE (assuming County is graciously "allowing" them to have it) is like a little slice of Santa Cruz, and probably the most "keiki-friendly" (semi-enclosed grassy area with climbing structure out back), with the "smoking area" discreetly off to the side. Saturday mornings. Recommend the sourdough pancakes.
Kalani has a range of activities that may or may not include a market; far as I know, their land-use battles with County are mostly a thing of the past.
Hilo market is more "tourist-oriented", with lots of prepared food; from Puna, it's far, and parking is a challenge... but I don't know where else to get coconut tapioca.
Uncle Robert's is more "festival" than "market", very much like the "parking lot scene" at a Grateful Dead or String Cheese Incident concert.
Various subdivisions were also having their own local markets until County stepped in to "clarify" the land-use restrictions. Basically, any non-agricultural use of Ag-zoned land requires a "Special Use Permit"; any "market" is considered a "commercial retail activity", even if it's purely agricultural. (Ironically, Ag zoning grants you the right to sell your own produce at a "fruit stand" along your road frontage, but if several people do it together at the local community center, it becomes a regulated activity, requiring permits for the site as well as detailed excise-tax record-keeping for the vendors.)