environment, such as Pacific Biodiesel, the leader in biodiesel fuel production in Hawaii. (Read more about these site visits on Convene’s blog at convn.org/ MauiOnSite.) After two days on the southwest side of the island, we took a scenic 45-minute drive to the north, past floating cliques of longboarders and fishing boats. Upon arriving at the 463- room, recently remodeled Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, we were greeted by a modern lobby with a picturesque view of the three-tiered swimming pool beyond the Alaloa Lounge, an open-air restaurant and bar serving specialty cocktails, ideal for pre- and post-meetings. The resort offers 27 function rooms and more than 35,000 square feet of indoor conference and banquet space, plus 173,120 square feet of outdoor space. Our first night in Kapalua was the inaugural event of the Ritz-Carlton’s annual Kapalua Wine & Food Festival, where we enjoyed a welcome reception at Merriman’s Kapalua on the water, owned by Hawaii Regional Cuisine (HRC) chef Peter Merriman, cooking
with 90-percent local ingredients. The restaurant sits next to Kapalua Beach, once rated the best beach on Earth by Condé-Nast Traveler magazine. The next day was our nature hike to the Maunalei Arboretum, which introduced us to the spongy roots of the Banyan tree, which act as a natural trampoline, and to a wealth of foreign and native species, all coexisting har- moniously. From our tour of the village of Lahaina, known as the “Venice of the Pacific,” we learned the origins of the Hawaiian written language, the history of the 19th-century missionaries who visited Hawaii, and the evolving culture of a small industrial economy turned tourist destination. Lahaina is full of unique venues for small- to medium- sized events, including the old Lahaina Prison, an open-air fort with a large courtyard built in the 1830s. We ate lunch as we did everything
else: on the water. With the waves lapping onto the shore beside us, we tasted a smorgasbord that Mark Ell- man — another HRC chef, cooking with 90-percent local ingredients — provided
at his newest restaurant, Honu. By some bit of serendipity, at the table next to us was Mick Fleetwood, drummer for Fleetwood Mac. He told us about his new restaurant, called Fleetwood on Front Street, which will open on the main drag in Lahaina within the next year. It will serve a mix of American, British, and island cuisine and have a rock-music, Fleetwood Mac–inspired ambiance. Our last evening, on the rolling beachfront lawns of the Ritz-Carlton, yellow and orange lanterns glowed above white tents, each one housing a sampling of the local cuisine, such as fresh ahi-tuna bruschetta from Honu, or fine wines, some organic and biody- namic, from all over the world. Whether your attendees are in search of science and innovation or an escape to nature, they’ll find that everything is connected in Maui. And they’ll learn, enjoy, and give back — all at the same time.