Event to drum up cash for Lahaina library renovation
The Maui News
June 22, 2012
LAHAINA - Tickets are still available for tonight's Savor the Sunset, a fundraiser for a public-private joint effort to raise funds for a face-lift for the Lahaina Public Library.
The Maui Friends of the Library and the Rotary Club of Lahaina are in the midst of a three-year campaign to fund and support the effort, which is expected to begin next month. The groups need to raise $280,000 for the project, which will not involve state funds.
The event will be held on the ocean lawn of the Royal Lahaina Resort. It begins at 5:30 p.m. and will feature JD on the Rocks, dancing on the lawn, Mediterranean cuisine by master chef Bernardo Salazar and free wine tasting.
Tickets may be purchased at the door for $60 or by phone in advance for $50 at 669-5200.
Face-lift work on the library is scheduled to begin next month when volunteers will pack up 35,000 books and other materials before volunteer contractors move in to add a new floor, a modern circulation desk, new bookcases and a coat of paint to the historic structure, a news release about the event said.
Fifteen contractors have donated $155,000 worth of free services, and the Rotary and the Friends of the Library have raised more than $100,000 through grants from foundations, previous fundraisers and individual contributions thus far.
Rotary Library Committee Chairwoman Sara Foley said that she hopes the event will put them over the top in fundraising for the interior and outside landscaping improvements to the library.
Foley, volunteer interior designer Rick Cowan and architect Uwe Schulz have been engaged in securing permits for the work.
With funds from the first Savor the Sunset and a contribution by the Maui Friends of the Library, new furniture was purchased. The West Maui North Beach fund subsequently purchased a $50,000 book security system that has allowed the library's Front Street entrance to be opened during library hours for the first time in its 55-year history. The Friends of the Library also added a $25,000 self-checkout station.
Earlier this year, the state replaced the library's computers, the news release said.
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