Tempting food, liquid refreshment and lively entertainment are yours at our weekly Mix `n Mingle social event. Every Monday timeshare owners, exchangers and retail guests from our nearby sister properties – The Gardens at West Maui, Hono Koa, Kahana Beach, Kahana Villa – meet at Sands of Kahana Resort in scenic West Maui to mix and mingle.
We provide burgers, veggie burgers along with a vegetable platter consisting of a carrot, cucumber, olive and pickle. The burger comes with a side of crunchy Maui Chips. Water and pineapple juice are also served, and for those who want an extra kick, we add a splash of champagne. Weather permitting, the Mix `n Mingle starts at 3:30pm and lasts until 4:00pm or till everyone has been served.
Captain Billy Bones
As for entertainment, popular Sands of Kahana activity coordinator Bill Sayles plays songs on his ukulele. Known to many of our guests as Captain Billy Bones, Bill has worked for the company since 2003.
“I love hanging out with these folks,” he says, referring to the owners, their families and guests who participate in the resort activities he leads. “I think of my job as an opportunity to make happy people happier. Everybody’s in a good mood. I hang out with happy people every day. I don’t see any grumpy people.”
Bill does it all!
Bill roves among our various Maui properties three days a week, captivating audiences with his congenial personality and ever-present ukulele. On any given day you can find him leading a group on a nature walk, presiding over an orchid lei making class, heading up a hula class, enlivening a barbecue, overseeing an ice cream social or teaching the ukulele, which he also incorporates into his hula class and plays at the Mix `n Mingle while people are lining up for cheeseburgers.
“Sometimes, when no one shows up for a class, I’ll pull out the ukulele and play.”
Bill says he can usually count on the happy strains of the traditional Hawaiian stringed instrument to incite an influx, reeling in the curious and getting them to drop their inhibitions.
“There’s something about seeing a person sitting on a wall and playing a ukulele that gets people to relax and participate. I incorporate it all week long.”
How an Iowa boy became Captain Bill
Captain Bill’s nautical nickname derives from his years running a chartered sailing company in Washington, where he lived (and also drove a school bus) for 30 years before moving to the islands – about 50 years after he wanted do, he figures.
“It is truly paradise,” says Bill, who was born and raised in Iowa. “I dreamed of living in Hawaii since the second grade. I used to ask my parents, `Did our wagons break down on the way to California’? I like to be warm.”
A multi-instrumentalist (button accordion, fiddle, guitar and Irish 10-penny flute in addition to ukulele), Bill specializes in original seafaring songs and hotel hula songs from the 1930s like “The Hukilau Song.” He performs at various locations on Maui and currently has five CDs available on iTunes, selling more than $10,000 in downloads in eight years.
It’s just another little treasure in the life of a man who loves his work, his coworkers (“they are all malama pono: caring and righteous”) and his adopted homeland.
“Each day I wake up I’m so glad I live in Hawaii and have something to do. That’s the trick. Having something to do and being part of society.”