Well-known entertainers are scheduled to perform at the Hale‘iwa Farmers’ Market on Sunday, the last day the state has set for the small-business operations at the site.

Jack Johnson, Paula Fuga, Awana Salazar and Makana will be part of the entertainment lineup between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., said market co-owner Pamela Boyar.

"It’s really a kanikapila," she said. (A kanikapila is the playing of music by an informal gathering of musicians.)

Boyar said the event is free, but donations are being accepted to pay for fees for lawyers who are negotiating with the state.

Boyar and co-owner Annie Suite said talks are continuing with the attorney general’s office to find a new site for the market.

The Hale‘iwa Farmers’ Market was told about a month ago that it had to move from the site. The state said it was in violation of laws related to vending from highways, and was operating on a site that creates a hazard and risk to drivers on the bypass road as well as pedestrians crossing the road to reach the market.

The state has given the business two deadline extensions.

For the past three years, the market has operated at the triangular site at the junction of Kamehameha Highway and Joseph P. Leong Highway, known as the Haleiwa bypass.

Some 70 small businesses participate in the weekly farmers market, which usually attracts more than 2,000 people, the owners said.

One farmer predicted dozens of farmers will go out of business without the Hale‘iwa Farmers’ Market.

Boyar said she and Suite have been looking at sites, but said some are unsuitable because the market requires a space able to accommodate a large number of vendors, and be in a visible and accessible area.

Boyar said that as they continue talks with the state, she hopes to be able to use the current site.

But the state attorney general’s office indicated there has been no change in its initial decision to close the site after Sunday.

A state transportation official confirmed talks are continuing, but declined to release details.

KOKUA LINE: June Watanabe is on vacation. Her column returns May 22.