The Hawaii Record Fair blew my expectations away, kinda like when you pick up a curious looking record,
take it home and drop the needle, and when the music hits you're in shock and awe. Completely blown away.
People of all ages packed the
McKinley High School cafeteria. Record diggers filled every space possible at each vendor table. "I had to make a couple circles just to hit every table, cause it's hard to find a spot at each vendor!" someone said.
Me (Roger Bong) at the Hawaii Record Fair
The best part: throughout the day, people kept pouring in. In the morning when doors opened around 10am for early admission, there was a line outside. When the general admission time arrived at 11am, there was another, longer line outside. And all throughout the day people continued to show up. Young, old, on their own, with friends, with their families---the
Hawaii Record Fair successfully grabbed the attention of all kinds of Oahu residents.
Plus, a handful of first-time sellers came to the Hawaii Record Fair. "Some of these guys I've never seen before," said John, one of my die-hard collector friends. "This should be interesting."
Sellers start hauling vinyl into the cafeteria.
Another friend of mine was practically sweating—"I'm so anxious right now, I don't know where to start!" It's was hardly 9:45am and the sellers, hauling boxes of vinyl into the cafeteria, were still setting up, not quite ready to sell.
But once the event got underway, it was immediately evident that the first annual Hawaii Record Fair was going to be a success. The hard work of Dennie and Ward, owners of
Hungry Ear Records, paid off. (And there's already talk of a second record fair!).
I arrived at the Hawaii Record Fair at 9am with camera in hand. I took about 200 photos (I still need to go through them all!), but I also took tons of Instagram photos. If you follow
alohagotsoul or
hungryear on Instagram, you might've seen the pictures I posted from the event.
Setting up records for sale.
The Hawaii Record Fair in full bloom.
State of Hawaii picture disc.
Pristine copies of Tender Leaf and Lemuria... Priced at $300 and $100.
Carey with a Beatles "Butcher" album.
Fitted Hawaii cap at the Record Fair—Support Local Music Collectors' Habits.
Nishita's Vintage Records.
RAMP "Come Into Knowledge" LP... found in Hawaii, crazy.
A rare Hawaiian jazz record by Doug MacDonald.
Want more vinyl photos?
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What did you think of the Hawaii Record Fair?
