Back in the 1970s, I was on the staff of the American Friends Service Committee, the Quaker-based organization, working out of an office at the Friends Meeting House in Manoa. Some years earlier, Friends had started an annual “Friends Festival,” featuring a big tent full of rummage, a “Better Boutique” upstairs, food, crafts, and generally good fun. It was a fundraiser for local peace activities, part of the effort that led to the opening of a local AFSC office with at least one staff person, and drew hundreds of people each year.

I’m guessing this photo was taken in around 1990, give or take several years, long after I had left the AFSC staff and gone on to other employment. But I would have to do some research to determine whether the festival tradition continued through that time period. I’m guessing that I’ve got other photos that might help pin down the dates, but finding them…another problem.

The festival is no longer held. Perhaps there’s a history there to be written.