More than 100 former Lahaina residents displaced by the August 2023 wildfire will return to their hometown this weekend for the inaugural Lahaina Homecoming, a three-day event organizers describe not as a celebration, but as another step in the community’s long healing journey.
The event, from Friday to Sunday, will bring 103 former residents back to Lahaina for visits with family, friends and the community. The residents are visiting, not permanently moving home, with travel and
lodging supported through partnerships with Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines, Maui hotels and community organizations.
The event comes nearly three years after the wildfire that destroyed much
of historic Lahaina and
displaced thousands of
residents.
For Festivals of Aloha founder and executive director Daryl Fujiwara, the idea grew out of years of observing how people responded when they gathered after the disaster.
“When everybody comes together, they start to
heal,” Fujiwara said. “It’s kind of magical. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Fujiwara said organizers intentionally waited until now because people are at different points in their recovery.
“Not everybody is ready to go back to Lahaina,” he said. “But when you are ready, we have to have a place for you.”
The organization spent months gauging community readiness, through monthly gatherings known as Lahaina Third Saturdays, before expanding the concept into a larger homecoming event.
The timing also coincides with another milestone in recovery. As Front Street prepares to reopen more broadly, organizers wanted displaced residents to experience the town before it once again fills with visitors.
The emotional response from families has surprised organizers.
“We knew every single name on this list,” Fujiwara said, becoming emotional while describing the residents returning home.
Fujiwara said organizers expected the program would simply reunite residents with their hometown, but the reality of welcoming them back has resonated deeply throughout the
community.
Originally, organizers planned to bring back about 80 residents. After receiving additional applications, they expanded the program to 103 after airline partners agreed to provide more round-trip tickets.
The returning families each have different reasons for visiting. Some are attending graduations or funerals, while others simply want to spend time with loved ones. Several extended their stays beyond the weekend.
Among those returning is a family that survived the fire by jumping into the ocean.
“We were kind of shocked that they wanted to come back,” Fujiwara said. “But they were insistent that they wanted to come home.”
Throughout the weekend, organizers have planned live music, local food vendors, children’s activities, cultural programming and wellness resources. Many participating vendors are Lahaina residents or wildfire survivors who started small businesses after the fire.
“It’s our community supporting our community,”
Fujiwara said.
The event also has received support from Maui County’s Office of Recovery, which views the gathering as part of a broader community-led recovery effort.
“People come first. Community comes first, and community guides the recovery,” Office of Recovery Administrator John Smith said.
Smith said residents have consistently expressed a desire to spend time together in Lahaina while continuing to process the trauma of
losing their town.
“Everybody’s at a different stage,” he said. “What we’re really doing is just supporting a way for everyone else to continue on that journey of processing the loss of a town that they loved so much.”
While emotional recovery continues, Smith said rebuilding efforts also have accelerated.
He pointed to residential reconstruction, infrastructure improvements and projects such as the Lahaina Bypass as examples of longer-term investments made possible through federal disaster recovery funding.
“It even surprises me week to week how much building activity there is in the residential neighborhoods,” Smith said. “There’s a perception that sometimes it’s not as far along as people think, but once they go, they’re like, ‘Oh wow, this is actually pretty amazing and pretty hopeful.’”
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen echoed that message, saying residents returning this weekend will see a town that retains its historic identity while becoming more
resilient.
“It’s a modern historic town,” Bissen said. “The upgrades that you can’t see above ground — the infrastructure, everything’s been upgraded from what it was, including the homes and the businesses. But it’ll retain the character of that town.”
Bissen emphasized that county leaders have deliberately avoided describing anniversary events as celebrations.
“We’ve never used the word ‘celebrating,’” he said. “We’ve called it an anniversary or a remembrance … The homecoming idea came from the community, not from the county. We just helped support it.”
Bissen acknowledged that perceptions of the recovery vary depending on each resident’s circumstances. Those who have rebuilt their homes may feel the recovery has progressed quickly, while those still waiting to return may believe it is moving too slowly.
“It’s hard to judge a race where nobody else is running in the race,” Bissen said, noting that recovery is best understood by comparing Lahaina’s progress with other communities recovering from major disasters.
He said county officials continue to hold monthly community meetings and adjust priorities based on residents’ feedback.
“Everything we do is in response to the community,” Bissen said.
Looking beyond Lahaina, Fujiwara hopes the event sparks a broader movement across Hawaii to reconnect communities with former residents.
“I hope everybody in Hawaii starts a homecoming,” he said. “These communities gather again, reminding everyone to come home, and remind them that they have a home — whether it’s to live, whether it’s to visit. They have somewhere to be.”
