There’s someone very special on the Island of Maui that most folks won’t have a chance to meet – unless you go looking for him. His name is Mika Villaren and he’s one of those magical types of people that simply LIVE the word ALOHA. We were fortunate to make his acquaintance last weekend at the Nui Festival in Wailea, but you might be able to find him sitting on the rock wall up at the Kaanapali Beach Resort weaving coconut leaves into magical bowls, hats and fish or playing the traditional Hawaiian ukulele.
I surmise that Mika’s passion for Hawaiian tradition might have stemmed from his grandfather who worked in the pineapple plantation and from his grandmother who was a pineapple lab tech, but maybe all this rich traditional aloha was simply born into Mika. After watching Mika interact with patrons of the Nui Festival, it’s easy to see how this man can be so warmly regarded in the community. His jokes are delivered effortlessly and best described as simply hilarious. My smile never left my face as Mika instructed visitors on how to make roses out of the coconut leaves and eased their frustration by complimenting them on even the most eclectic of rose efforts. His sense of humor and patient instruction kept the groups gathering for more of his tales.
Mika doesn’t often give weaving instruction formally, but to the curious passer-by’s and shoppers alike, he imparts years of fun snipits and basic how-to’s for creating something out of almost nothing. From the moment he presses the coconut leaves into your hand, you’re transfixed on his words and magically the “down – over, poke, under – over, around” comes together to form a rose within your hand. No matter how well (or um, not) you do, he’ll praise you and make you feel like a magician… just like him.
