Uncle Roberts Night Market (and hippie gathering)

Hippies in Hawaii

We have found some of the lost hippies from the ‘60s. They are living the life in Hawaii and they congregate for food, old folks dancing under the influence, and some more typical Hawaiian market vegetables and crafts at Uncle Robert’s Wednesday Night Farmers Market in Hilo. You could park on the road outside the venue for free or venture into the lava field to find a spot for $3. We chose the lava field. The surface had been kind of smoothed out, but walking on crushed lava in the dark was a bit of a challenge. I would call the organization of the parking area unsupervised so leaving after an evening of revelry might have been interesting. We did not stay until closing time.

It was a big and energetic crowd so this was certainly the place to be on a Wednesday night in Hilo. From time to time, you could catch the pungent smell of weed in the air and pipes made of crystal, native woods, and other unusual materials were going fast at some of the stalls. The band was old, looked something like the Grateful Dead, and were pretty good. Strange thing about the musicians, I saw a trombone player, a sax man, and a guy playing the harmonica behind the stage. These guys could not have been part of the group on stage because they had no mikes, but they were certainly having a great time and part of the show if you happened to have the right view. One of the band member’s wife or girlfriend was dancing on stage wearing a horse head and later danced around the audience asking for tips for the band. People my age need a hobby and as long as the musicians close up shop by 10 this seems as good as any.