Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Partners With Acclaimed Artist

A critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling picture book illustrator has designed this year’s signature artwork for the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.

The signature art piece, created by Jing Jing Tsong, will be featured on all official Kona Coffee Cultural Festival merchandise including the Festival button, print collateral, magazine and retail merchandise. Official merchandise will be available on the Festival’s online store (www.konacoffeefest.com) as well as events throughout this year’s Festival.

“The artist’s unforgettable style uniquely captures the many elements of the coffee festival events and sews them together in a colorful, cheerful quilt-inspired piece that wraps itself in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival,” officials stated in a press release Friday, June 4.

Jing Jing Tsong’s newest illustrations are in the book, “If I Were a Tree,” by Andrea Zimmerman.

Kirkus Reviews writes, “Readers will delight in the breathtaking illustrations. Double-page spreads are rich and vibrant, Tsong using the colors of nature to evoke a warm and inviting environment.”

Locally, Jing Jing’s work can be found in the Hawaiian Legends for Little Ones boardbook series by Gabrielle Ahuli‘i.

The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary as Hawaii’s oldest festival returns this year – Thursday, Nov. 4 through Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021. Throughout the Festival, festival-goers celebrate the harvest as Kona coffee farms offer a firsthand look at growing this world-famous crop, the coffee art scene fills with inspiration, and music and dance enrich cultural exchanges. Kona coffee and food events offer tastings, and hands-on cultural events help tell the story of Kona’s rich coffee history.