Kona police to host inaugural keiki poke contest in youth outreach

The contest is being staged with the resort and chef Bryan Fujikawa of KGH Catering, and it is aimed at youth ages 5 to 17. Space is limited, a detail that points to a small, focused program rather than a large public festival. That scale matters for police outreach: it gives officers a chance to meet keiki and parents in a setting built around food, family and cooperation instead of enforcement.

HI-PAL programs are designed to create constructive contact between young people and officers, and a poke contest is a distinctly local way to do that in Kona. By centering the event on a dish deeply tied to Hawaii’s food culture, the department is leaning into something familiar to island families while asking children to show creativity and confidence in the kitchen.

For the police department, the event is also a reminder that public safety work is not limited to calls for service. A youth program like this can give families a different memory of local policing, one built around mentoring and shared activity. In a county where relationships between officers and residents often shape whether people feel comfortable reaching out later, the value of a low-stakes gathering can extend well beyond one afternoon at the resort.