For the love of mango!
Jun 17, 2009
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii - Exotic, luscious, sweet, and juicy - all these words and more have been used to describe the delicious mango. Ranked among the most widely produced and consumed fruits in the world, mango takes center stage on Saturday, August 1, at the first annual Mango Festival 2009 held on Hawaii's Big Island.
The Keauhou Beach Resort is pleased to be the host hotel for this luscious all-day event and invites mango lovers to take advantage of its KEAUHOU MANGO FEST package. Priced at $149/single or $199/double, the package includes one night accommodations, a self-service buffet breakfast the following morning, and entry to the Mango Festival's Kona Mango Experience and the Mango Inspired Dinner on August 1st. For reservations or information, call toll free 1-866-326-6803 or the hotel direct at 1-808-324-2515, or visit www.keauhoubeachresort-hawaii.com.
Mango Festival 2009 celebrates all things mango with a day filled with events and activities. The festivities begin at the Keauhou Farmers' Market at the Keauhou Shopping Center from 8:00 am to noon, complete with farmer-chef cooking demonstrations and tastings that begin at 10:00 am. This year, Stuart Johnson, also known as Mango Man, and Chef William Trask, President of the ACF Kona Kohala Chefs Association, will be featured.
The fun continues at the oceanfront Keauhou Beach Resort from 2:00 to 6:00 pm with the "Kona Mango Experience" held in the hotel's Royal Garden. Here attendees will learn how to grow and prepare mango for eating, vote for the best mango-inspired art, enjoy live entertainment and shop for mango-themed gifts. Refreshing "Mangoritas" also will be available during the day at the hotel's Veranda Lounge for $6.00.
Topping off the evening at 6:30pm will be a three-course "Mango Inspired Dinner." Prepared by Keauhou Beach Resort's Executive Sous Chef Cy Yamamoto, the menu includes Thai Style Beef Salad with Mapulehu Mango Vinaigrette; South Kona Mango Scented Grilled Mahi Mahi with Jasmine Rice, Asparagus and Rapoza Mango Relish; and Warm Haden Mango Sweet Bread Pudding with Mango Cream Anglaze.
Admission to the morning's Keauhou Farmers Market is Free. Entrance to the Kona Mango Experience at Keauhou Beach Resort is just $10 and includes a Kona Brewing Company beverage or the festival's mango coloring book. The evening's Mango Inspired Dinner is priced at $39.95, plus tax.
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About Mango Festival 2009
The Mango Festival 2009 is a zero-waste event presented by the non-profit Sanctuary of Mana Kea Gardens. Sponsors include the Kona County Farm Bureau, 50th Anniversary of Statehood Commission, Keauhou Beach Resort, Kona Brewing Company, Keauhou Resort, Complete Art Service Hawaii, Produce to Product, Inc, and Divine Goods Hawaii. For information, call (808) 769-0672, send an e‑mail to nkona@hawaii.rr.com or visit www.keauhoufarmersmarket.com and www.konafarmbureau.org.
About Keauhou Beach Resort
The Keauhou Beach Resort sits along the Kona Coast of Hawaii's Big Island and enjoys a prime oceanfront setting with tide pools sheltering sea turtles and reef fish out front and Kahaluu Bay Beach Park, one of the best snorkeling beaches on the island, right next door. The hotel offers 310 recently refurbished guest rooms and suites, meeting facilities, restaurants, salon and spa services, tennis courts, pool, shopping, ancient historical sites and Hawaiian cultural programs for adults and children. For reservations or information, call toll free 1-866-326-6803 or the hotel direct at 1-808-324-2515, or visit www.keauhoubeachresort-hawaii.com.
About Outrigger Enterprises Group
Outrigger Enterprises Group is one of the largest and fastest growing privately-held leisure lodging and hospitality companies in the Asia Pacific and Oceania regions and continues to expand its presence throughout the area. A family-owned company with more than 60 years of hospitality experience, Outrigger runs a highly-successful, multi-branded line of hotels, condominiums and vacation resort properties, including Outrigger© Hotels & Resorts, OHANA© Hotels & Resorts, Outrigger Condominium Collection©, Embassy Suites©, Best Western© and Wyndham Vacation Ownership©. Currently, Outrigger operates and/or has under development 47 properties with close to 12,000 rooms located in Hawaii, Australia, Guam, Fiji, Bali, Phuket, Thailand and Hainan, China. Outrigger Enterprises Group also operates and develops hotel properties and hospitality-related retail and real estate opportunities for partners in Hawaii, the Pacific, the mainland USA and Asia. For on-line information, log on at www.outriggerenterprisesgroup.com and www.outrigger.com.