Ritz-Carlton plans holiday event
Nevah Too Late Trio will perform Saturday at The Ritz-Carlton Maui from 6-9 p.m.
The Kapalua Holiday Market Place, open from 3 to 9 p.m., will also have a visit from Santa and Mrs. Clause with photo opportunities and a “Mix and Mingle Marketplace” at the Aloha Garden Pavilion, including a festive family holiday market.
Admission and event parking are complimentary.
“We are thrilled to welcome our guests, community, and local vendors to The Ritz-Carlton Maui,” said Jon Gersonde, general manager of the Ritz-Carlton. “Our community is at the heart of what we do, and creating a gathering space where we can celebrate the season is incredibly rewarding.”
The entertainment begins with jazz duo pianist Jeff Helmer and saxophonist/singer Joie Taylor from 3 to 4 p.m.
Taylor has performed at Blue Note on Oahu and elsewhere, including the Montreux Jazz Festival and The North Sea Jazz Festival at The Hague.
Helmer was a finalist twice in the Great American Jazz Piano Competition.
From 4 to 4:20 p.m., the Zenshin Daiko Drummers perform, followed by multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano award winner Tarvin Makia.
Makia, who will be performing in a trio at Kapalua, recently won a Hōkū award for Jazz Album of the Year for the album “Ho’okanikapila, Mau’i” with Faith Ako.
Makia previously won Hōkū awards as a member of the group A’ea’e, with Jeff Dayton, Keola Donaghy, and Kenneth Makuakāne. They won Group of the Year and Hawaiian EP of the Year in 2023.
From 6-9 p.m., the Nevah Too Late Trio performs, along with a hula performance by Kumu Iola Balubar and her Halau Hula O Keola-Ali’i O Kekai.
Balubar is celebrating her 50th year as a kumu hula on Maui.
Also at the Ritz-Carlton is entertainment from 6-9 p.m. with Hawaiian guitar master Larry Endrina at the Alaloa Lounge.




