Dole Plantation And HCCF
By Mike Moon
Director of Operations, Dole Plantation
When I first started working at Dole Plantation in 1992, I’m not sure if I even could have dreamed of what it would be like now. Twenty years ago, it was about three acres and the store was only 10,000 square feet. (But, yes, we did serve Dole Whip!)
Here we are in 2012, and Dole Plantation is more than 14 acres. Our store alone is more than 25,000 square feet in size, and this month we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of our Pineapple Express Train.
Dole Plantation has three attractions that are both educational and fun for the whole family. The Plantation Garden Tour highlights local agriculture past and present. The Pineapple Garden Maze is the world’s largest maze, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
And then there’s our train.
The Pineapple Express, which started running in 2002, is much more than just a train; it tells the story of pineapple and agriculture in Hawaii. It’s a custom-constructed, vintage-style locomotive that takes guests on a 20-minute journey over two miles of pineapple history.
In honor of the 10th anniversary of the Pineapple Express, please join us this month as a portion of the proceeds from all tickets sales for the three Dole Plantation attractions – the maze, garden and train – will be donated to Hawaii Children’s Cancer Foundation. Kama’aina receive discounted admission on all three attractions, as well as 15 percent off most in-store purchases.
We’re also collecting monetary donations for HCCF throughout the month and are displaying professional portraits of some of the island keiki who are currently battling cancer, those who have survived it and those who have lost their battles with the disease.
We at Dole Plantation are extremely honored to work with this amazing nonprofit organization, which operates with only one part-time employee and a whole army of dedicated volunteers.
Please join us at Dole Plantation in supporting HCCF. To learn more about HCCF and how to help through Dole Plantation, visit hccf.org.
