Kona's Agtourism Map
by MaryAnne Maigret

The 2000 Spring Blossom Festival sponsored the creation of the first-ever map of Kona to list and locate Kona's agtourism attractions. The focus of this year's map is to provide a wide-ranging look at North and South Kona, highlighting ag-related locales open to visitors.

The map includes opportunities to pursue education, find out about Kona history, go on farm tours, purchase products directly from the farmer, or enjoy a meal prepared from locally-grown ingredients. A total of 38 destinations are shown, ranging from working farms and fruit stands to museums and educational facilities.

The map has been well received by both visitors and local interests, particularly because it illustrates that there is indeed "something to do" for visitors when they leave the urban Kailua-Kona region and head upslope to "mauka" Kona. The map emphasizes the rural nature of these mauka lands, inviting visitors to be a part of that scene, to leave behind the more polished "town" scene for a day or two. The map is an ideal focus point for an agtourism festival or event.

This year's map functions as a unifier of the region, something that promotes mauka lands exclusively. Several people have commented on how nice it is to see a map that isn't centered on Kailua, but instead on "us". The emphasis in future publications might be on more specific driving routes, where a visitor could go to a farm, dine out, and buy some fresh fruits, veggies and Kona coffee in the span of a morning or afternoon. The larger scale presentation of such maps would allow us to portray more detailed information, such as lei stands, or interesting roadside trees or plants.

Thank you to MaryAnne Maigret of Kona Cartographics for the creation of the Kona Agtourism Map.