Once upon a time, on an island called Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in a little town called Waimea, a few moms from Waimea School were chatting while their kids swam at the HPA Pool.  They were talking about the health and safety of their kids and how to address problem such as obesity, asthma and personal safety.  From this poolside conversation, an effort was made to create an event about health and safety for kids in Waimea

The first Waimea Healthy Keiki Fest took place at Waimea School in 1999 and was a huge success with over 30 booths and 300 people attending.  This inspired the Waimea Parent Teachers Association to make the event bigger and better by bringing all of the schools in Waimea together for one big event.  In 2004, over 70 booths participated and over 2,000 people attended the one day event.

The Waimea PTA wrote a successful grant to the Hawaii Community Foundation's 'Mo' Bettah' grant and also Aloha Care with this financial support, were able to expand the event to include entertainment by teen bands, children's theatre and dance groups.  The growing event was relocated to the Kahilu Town Hall and when the Parker Ranch Center renovations were completed, the Keiki Fest was invited to host their event there.  

The event has grown in leaps and bounds, doubling the number of booths and participants.  The event has been faithfully lead by leaders from all of the public, private, charter and home schools in Kamuela.  The event is made possible by the many presenters from all over the island and state who come out to share and teach kids about living a healthy, safe and fun life of learning.