sugar production of the Hāmākua Sugar Company from 1873 to 1994. With the closing of the Honokaa sugar production and the most recent staggered tourism, the local economy has been in decline. It has become increasingly a bedroom community for Hilo. As the gateway to the Hāmākua Coast, Honokaa provides the first unobstructed view of the Pacific Ocean traveling downslope from Waimea. The Hāmākua Coast was the classic plantation community in the early 20th century, but since the closing of the Big Island's sugar industry, the district has had to diversify its economy. Presently, with much of the district still zoned for agriculture, Hāmākua has seen rising prospects in other crops including pineapples, coffee, papaya, macadamia nuts, and tea. People Honokaa is the home of the fourth governor of Hawaii since statehood, John D. Waihee III, who served from December 2, 1986, to December 2, 1994. Waihee is the first Native Hawaiian to hold that office anywhere in the United States. Honokaa was also home to Yoshito Takamine, the late Hawaii state representative and labor leader. Roseanne Barr, an American actress, comedian, writer, producer and politician, resides in Honokaa. Culture Honokaa boasts a historic downtown district. In 1930, the Honokaa People's Theatre was built on Māmane Street by the Tanimoto family. The theater hosted the Hāmākua Music Festival every fall from 1993 to 2006, and again in 2009. Proceeds went to fund local music education on the island. The festival has hosted a number of jazz, classical, and Hawaiian folk musicians, including Ray Brown, Gene Harris, James Moody, Howard Alden, Big Brother and the Holding Company and Hubert Laws. Ranching, along with nascent diversified agriculture, is the primary industry in Honokaa and the Hamakua District. Honokaa hosts a Saturday farmers' market, held on Māmane Street, The Farmers' Market at Hāmākua Harvest on Sundays from 9:00am – 2:00pm on the corner of Māmane Street and Māmalahoa Highway, and the Honoka'a Country Market features Hawaii Big Island Beef, a locally raised and grass-fed beef. While ranching and rodeos may seem idiosyncratic to some visitors, ranching in Hawaii has a long history. This tradition has been celebrated annually on Western Weekend beginning in 2006, and included children's activities, country western bands, a block party with paniolo barbecue, a rodeo, and the ribald Saloon Girl Contest. Western Weekend was sponsored in part by a grant from the County of Hawaii Department of Research &