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Birthday party to mark iconic Lahaina banyan tree’s 150th anniversary

The Lahaina banyan tree is decked out in Christmas lights in December 2019. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the iconic tree’s planting in Lahaina town. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

The Maui News

The Lahaina Restoration Foundation will hold a free birthday party, complete with a cake-cutting, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the planting of the Lahaina banyan tree.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 22, Earth Day. Foundation members will present the banyan tree with a new bench and plaque commemorating 150 years. Festivities will also include:

• A banyan tree trivia contest from 10 a.m. to noon. Participants who answer all trivia questions correctly will receive a banyan tree magnet and be entered into a drawing, with prize winners announced at noon.

• An appearance by the 2023 Lahaina Poster Contest winner, artist Laurie Miller, who will be on hand from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to dedicate and sign posters, which may be purchased at the Lahaina Visitor Center.

• A cutting of the banyan tree birthday cake, which will be distributed to attendees, at 1 p.m. Cake is limited.

• Free giveaways of kalo plants at 2 p.m. in honor of the kalo that was grown there for centuries prior to the construction of the Lahaina Fort in 1827. Plants are limited.

Throughout the event, keiki can make special cards using a banyan tree rubber stamp, colored pencils and pens. Several historic photos of the Lahaina banyan tree will be on display, and fun fact storyboards will be available to view.

The banyan tree was planted on April 24, 1873 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Protestant mission in Lahaina, according to the Lahaina Restoration Foundation. Only 8 feet tall when it was first planted, the tree has grown to more than 60 feet tall and now shades two-thirds of the 1-acre park.

When the tree’s aerial roots hit the ground, they grow into trunks that support the tree’s lateral growth. Community members played a key role in the tree’s growth, size and shape. The town gardeners tied pickle jars filled with water to specific aerial roots that they wanted to grow while cutting back others. This has resulted in a tree with a symmetrical circle of many trunks around its original main trunk.

Today, arborists trim the tree annually, so it will stay within the confines of the park.

The Lahaina banyan tree is on Maui County’s list of exceptional trees, which means that it is protected, and special attention is given to its maintenance.

“The Lahaina Restoration Foundation is so very excited to commemorate such a special anniversary for a very special banyan tree,” Executive Director Theo Morrison said in a news release Wednesday. “We invite our entire Maui community to join us on Earth Day as we celebrate her beauty and continuing legacy.”

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