End of Stables Swap Meet

It’s an odd feeling to arrive at the dead end of a journey one’s been traversing for over seven years. The air is still and quiet, yet the mind races with all the questions, what didn’t I do, what could I have done, why does it have to end?  

Participation has dwindled since Covid and the momentum has been unable to regain its speed.  Many other great market options have popped up too. Run by people with far more energy and  enthusiasm. There is a little smokey smell like the remnants of a fire gone out but a while ago.  

My stomach feels like it’s dropping, but I suck it in and try to reflect on certain moments,  remembering that the journey was the main event.  

Stables Swap Meet has come to an end. I recall the early days of excitement building up, finding  new vendors, and being encouraged by neighborhood support. The Swap Meet gave some people 

a place to launch an independent business. The look on some of the locals’ faces when they came into the Stables for the first time. Some of them had never been inside the building despite the  fact they were born and raised in the neighborhood and are now adults. Prior to that time, the  Hawaiian Shores Community Association kept the Stables locked up only for the use of their  board and annual meetings. In the 70s it did used to actually house horses, but a fire sometime in  the 80s left only the steel bones of the stables in the back, making it a perfect place for vendor  stalls. Do you know that the overgrown grass behind the stables hides a once active Polo Field? I  loved sharing the space with the community. It was my mission to make it a real neighborhood  place, for both sides of Kahakai Blvd. I can now honestly sit back and feel mission  accomplished. 

It wasn’t single handedly, there were the yoga classes first, but they were sparsely attended  starting out. Not anymore. I also began running Puna Writer’s Workshops there and holding  reading nights for the writers. More recently the HSCA’s Community Events and Activities  Committee (CEAC) began planning events for everyone in the community to participate in  which have been popular and well attended. Bingo, Trivia Night, Games Night, Water Color  Classes, and a fabulous Halloween dance. I hope we can look forward to more great events in the future.

I have so many fond memories of loyal vendors who came back every month. Some funny things  happened like the bomb threat that came across all our phones at once from Civil Defense. We  didn’t know what to do, some went home, some stayed. There was no way of knowing it wasn’t  real… it sure looked real coming across all our phones like that! During Hurricane Iselle when 

felled Albisia’s plagued the neighborhood, it became a headquarters for Helco with all their maps  

so people could mark where the trees were down. They set a table of snacks for anyone to help  themselves. Hawaiian Tel set up the internet for anyone in the community to access the outside  world. It became a depot for drop-offs of ice and other needed supplies being doled out for  emergencies. Informative community meetings allowing us to meet our candidates. Then for  those elected to relay their accomplishments. Lately the Stables have been host to a very popular 

spay-neuter program. Yes, I am gratified to have been part of the momentum to open the  community center to us all. 

I am also grateful to everyone who participated in all the activities I promoted and to everyone  else who helped our community center to become a shining spot in our neighborhood. I will host  one more final event, The Last Minute Holiday Fair on the third Saturday the 16th. Booths are  available, at stablesswapmeet@gmail.com. We may decide to have a pop-up Swap Meet  occasionally during the year, but it will not go back to being a monthly event again. As I have  become an author and am busy marketing my memoir, I am hoping to gather more authors to  make it a bit of a book fair for the Last Minute Holiday Fair as well. Books make a great gift for  the holidays. Who knows, maybe we can convince CEAC to bring the Book and Puzzle  exchange back one more time? 

Below are random images from some of the BEST TIMES at Stables Swap Meet!

“And now the end is here 

And so I face the final curtain. 

My friend I’ll make it clear 

I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain 

I’ve lived a life that’s full 

I traveled each and every highway 

And more, much more  

I did it, I did it my way.” 

Songwriter: Daniel Bedingfield 

Mahalo from Dawn & Stephen