Big Island Substance Abuse Council is hosting its 11th annual Summer Jam event from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday to gather the community and reduce the stigma surrounding addiction recovery.
Like previous years, the festive free event will include a pop-up health fair, craft makeke and Keiki Fun Zone alongside annual competitions of strength like the Truck Pull.
The primary difference this year is the event’s location. Due to construction at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, the Summer Jam has been moved outside to the Francis Wong Stadium parking lot.
BISAC Community Engagement Program Manager Lane Miyake-Kamahele said the venue change is actually fortunate considering the other big change to this year’s event, which is a substantial increase in the number of vendors offering food selections, unique items and health resources.
“The craft fair is two times bigger this year,” Miyake-Kamahele said. “We have 28 registered (craft) vendors, 21 registered for our Eat the Street food vendors, and 34 registered for our health fair.”
Available crafts will include locally made items like apparel by Motivation Movements, jewelry by Na Waiwai Nani and homemade goods of all sorts by Simply Kahiki, while local chefs offering small tastes of Hawaii include Yumi’s Donuts and Big Island Smokehouse.
Miyake-Kamahele said a full list of both craft and food vendors, as well as health representatives that will be at the Summer Jam, is featured on BISAC’s Instagram page, @bisac.hawaii.
In addition to the teams engaging in the friendly competition of dragging a monstrous truck, attendees will also be able to take part in the annual Strong Man/Strong Woman qualifier contest, Miyake-Kamahele said.
Miyake-Kamahele said these strength-based activities can serve as “a symbol of the strength, recovery and resilience” shown by the people who overcome addiction through work with BISAC, which has been helping Big Island residents overcome their substance issues for 61 years.
Though there is no live musical entertainment this year, Miyake-Kamahele said that Island Magic Mike will be returning as the emcee for the Summer Jam.
Miyake-Kamahele said that the fun opportunity to mingle in a crowd without the temptation of substances fills a gap for people in recovery who actively avoid many gatherings in their efforts to make smart choices and safeguard their health. At the Summer Jam, Miyake-Kamahele said people who have achieved sobriety can celebrate with some of the people who helped them get there, like clinicians and probation officers.
“Our event is no alcohol, substance-free and tobacco-free,” Miyake-Kamahele said. “It’s really about bringing that community of recovery together and creating a space where everybody can be included.”
The Summer Jam’s carnival games and giveaways also will be loaded with prizes, Miyake-Kamahele said, but he decided to keep the exact nature of them a secret, saying the community will “just have to come and see.”
Email Kyveli Diener at kdiener@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
