Hearty Da Dog shares a moment at last year’s HeartFest Maui. Courtesy photo

If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, the second annual HeartFest Maui could do a ton of good.

HeartFest Maui will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Maui Family YMCA, 250 Kanaloa Ave. in Kahului, inviting residents to enjoy the day outside with a wide array of fun activities, prize giveaways, food trucks, live music, a silent auction, free screenings and checkups, and health care resources from dozens of organizations and local nonprofits.

Entering its second year, HeartFest Maui is a free grassroots event that grew out of a partnership between two local Scout packs and the YMCA.

Looking to raise money for the Scouts, a small group of parents had the idea to hold an event with the YMCA. The goal was to help the Scouts get the money they need for things like camping trips, service projects and their work in the community, while also promoting healthy lifestyles across Maui.

The timing worked out well with February being American Heart Month, a nationwide observance dedicated to raising awareness about cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.

And the Maui Family YMCA was happy to help.

“Anytime we have an opportunity to bring the community together — and in the case of HeartFest, it’s families getting together and spending time together, the community coming together and finding healthy, wholesome things to do — I think it is a great opportunity,” said Steven Scraggs, CEO of the Maui Family YMCA. “The YMCA, along with our partners, Troop 49, they do a great job of making (HeartFest) very family-friendly.”

As Steven Fernandez, one of the parents who helps organize HeartFest, explained it, the Scouts rely heavily on fundraising efforts, and the YMCA is a group that promotes healthy lifestyles, so working with them on this feels natural.

With that, Steven and Dahana Fernandez and Mark and Tanya Unemori took the idea and ran with it. Dahana came up with a name for the event and designed a logo, and they started promoting it on Instagram and in the community.

Fernandez added that the first HeartFest got a nice boost when Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen dropped in and offered a few remarks. In fact, Fernandez said Bissen actually has a connection to the Scouts because the mayor was in the same troop when he was younger.

Scout Azariah Fernandez of Pack 49 gives Mayor Richard Bissen a picture signed by the pack thanking the mayor. Courtesy photo

Fernandez said this year’s HeartFest will build on the success of last year and feature even more free screenings and health care resources than last year. Additionally, the keiki zone will have games, prizes, face-painting, jumping castles and more.

According to Scraggs, the second annual HeartFest will be a lot of fun, but it could also do a lot of good.

“It’s not just Maui, but if you look at national statistics — whether it’s diabetes, heart disease, obesity — all of those statistics are trending in the wrong direction, and it seems like the latest thing is to use some type of prescription or medication to try to control that,” Scraggs said. “That’s not to say that’s not important, but a preventative way to deal with it — whether you’re young, middle aged or a senior adult — is to be healthy, to be active, to be moving. Whether that’s in a YMCA class or activity, or at your local community park or even if it’s just mowing your lawn, whatever it would be, I think HeartFest tries to encourage families to be active outside together.”

For more information, follow @HeartFestMaui on Instagram.