I bought my first Kamaka from Larry's Music in April 2011. After having trouble tracking Sam down to get into the Kapa'a store (Kamoa had recently launched, and Sam was busy shipping them to faraway places), I found Sam's parents staffing an ukulele cart at a resort hotel in Puipu Beach on a Sunday night. Sam's dad, Joe, drove me back to the Koloa Town store (which was closed) and let me play as many ukuleles I wanted for as long as I wanted. (Special thanks to Sam's mom for offering to staff the ukulele cart by herslef so Joe could take me back to the Koloa Town shop!) I picked out a Kamaka tenor, and Joe brought it to the Kapa'a store the next morning so I could compare it to the Kamakas that Sam had in stock in the Kapa'a shop at the time. I ended up buying the tenor I'd picked out on Sunday. Sam and his parents were all great, and my ukulele means as much to me because of how I acquired it as for its great sound, feel, and appearance. I'd heard that the Kapa'a shop had become all Kamoa, and I understand why Sam did that. But I share Gary's longing for a time when the Kapa'a shop was the (expensive) candy store of ukuleles, filled with lots of K-brand ukes in addition to Kamoas.
Gary, have a great time at the Waikiki Ukulele Festival! I'm going to try to follow at least part of it online.