Picture a six-mile-long buffet that raises more than $1 million each year and you have the recipe for the annual Visitor Industry Charity Walk, organizers say.

The event started on O'ahu in 1979 as a 26-mile event that raised money for one charity and evolved into a statewide series of shorter walks that last year donated money to more than 190 local nonprofit organizations. The event has raised more than $18 million since its inception.

The Hawai'i Hotel & Lodging Association, with the help of various hotel members who work in the visitor industry year-round, run the event, traditionally held the third Saturday in May. Last year, more than 10,000 people walked, about 6,000 in Waikiki.

"It's the only walk in the state where you can actually gain weight," said Tina Yamaki, who serves as the event's statewide coordinator/queen — yup, that's really her full title.

That's because walkers check in at stations run by volunteers from the industry, people who make their living feeding folks on vacation.

Yamaki said the event starts around dawn with a continental breakfast of pastries, juice and fruits. Then walkers pick up other treats along the way such as: granola bars, chocolate chip cookies, pudding, fresh strawberries, frozen guava juice, Spam musubi, kalua pig buns, shave ice, watermelon, soft pretzels, cake and fortune cookies.

At the end of the walk, organizers promise more food: A plate lunch of grilled kal-bi ribs cooked by hotel executives, baked chicken, hot dogs, rice, whole fresh fruit, tossed green salad and soda.

"We've had people doing it for all 29 years," Yamaki said. "Some people actually plan vacations around it each year."

Yamaki said some companies turn the walk into their company picnic. Others bring family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and school groups.

Hotel association president Murray Towill said the walk is one of the largest single-day fundraisers in the state by one organization.

"It involves everybody, virtually our entire industry," he said. "I like the fact that everyone's in it together."

He said about 85 percent of the money collected goes to the charities because of the donations of so many volunteers. "It's a real good opportunity for us to give back to the community," Towill said.

And many of the donations come from events run by hotel employees in the months before the walk. Towill said those range from bake sales and car washes to the often-popular "dunking the managers" booth.

Outrigger Enterprises' Barry Wallace is serving as chairman of this year's event in addition to his regular job as executive vice president of hospitality services.

Wallace said he's been in the hotel business for 32 years — 12 here in Hawai'i and 20 years on the Mainland. And though he's seen his share of fundraisers, he believes this walk is unique to the Islands.

"I never saw any industry organize in this manner," he said. "There's an army of people working on it."

This year's theme is "Songs of the Islands." He said they plan for the event all year long and look for new ways to raise money and get creative in involving more people each year. At Outrigger, he said, guests can check a box and donate a dollar a day if they'd like.

Yamaki said walkers this year get a nice little bonus, while supplies last: a small hands-free AM/FM radio with headphones. She suggests it as an addition to an emergency kit or a workout bag or "to get ready for next year's charity Walk."

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.