Festivals

This annual celebration of Aloha, the traditional Hawaiian spirit of warmth and open arms, commences with ceremonies on all of the major Hawaiian Islands. During the week that follows, each island has parades, Ethnic Days celebrating the diverse cultures of Hawaii, Ohana Days at popular attractions, and street parties. The Honolulu street party draws a quarter of a million people. The festival starts on O'ahu and ends on Maui. It moves from island to island throughout the months of September and October. Three hundred events take place on the islands, and are staffed and arranged by 30,000 volunteers.

The Aloha Festival will visit Kaua'i before wrapping up in Maui in October. Festivities include a parade, a dance and a street fair. This festival, which is Hawaii's largest, is more than a half-century old. Its theme changes each year. This festival is entirely volunteer-staffed and draws a total attendance of more than 1 million people. If you're in Kaua'i at the time it visits, you literally won't be able to miss it. Admission is free.

Rated one of the country's best parades and among its three most impressive floral parades, this annual eruption of flowers has its own special place in the CBS Thanksgiving Day Special. If you are in town, don't miss out on the opportunity to see it firsthand. The procession begins at Hobron Lane and heads through Waikiki to the Honolulu Zoo, displaying a rainbow of floral floats, marching bands and more. The parade is met every year by thousands of enthusiastic locals and visitors, so arrive early to secure yourself a good spot. This is one of the celebrated Aloha Festival events.

Every year, the Waikiki Artfest serves as a huge platform for all Hawaiian artists who display their hand-crafted products at Kapiolani Park. Items on sale range from jewelry, clothing, and handbags, to quilts, soap and candles. Guests are also treated to a delicious meal and live music. Admission is free. This event is held around ten times a year, of which the January Pacific Island Arts Festival is the largest one. Call for more details.

Every year, the Waikiki Artfest serves as a huge platform for all Hawaiian artists who display their hand-crafted products at Kapiolani Park. Items on sale range from jewelry, clothing, and handbags, to quilts, soap and candles. Guests are also treated to a delicious meal and live music. Admission is free. This event is held around ten times a year, of which the January Pacific Island Arts Festival is the largest one. Call for more details.

Bayfest Hawaii welcomes you to a fun-filled festival of entertainment, music and games. Held at the Marine Corps Base in Kaneohe Bay every year, the event is organized by Marine Corps Community services and features carnival rides, live concerts of world-famous bands, and nightly firework shows. There are also contests with great prizes to be won, military displays, and more!

This festival is the brainchild of North Shore arts advocates and artists. The goal of the non-profit organization behind the festival is to promote education and public awareness of arts and culture with a special emphasis on public participation, and toward the ultimate end of improving the community. Festival participants include everyone from children to professional artists. Events include visual arts displays, dance and musical performance, storytelling and various workshops. Local artists will sell their work as well. Parking is available.

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Every year Hawaii promotes national as well as international art and culture through The Hawaii Arts Season. Only two days are dedicated to special events saturated with the arts. Numerous dance performances, musical concerts, plays, and exhibitions are organized to celebrate diverse world cultures. Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui and Hawaii's Big Island...all buzz with the art fever.

The annual Hawaii Book and Music Festival was organized for the first time in April, 2006. And its success in the very first year has made it a much-anticipated festival on Hawaii's event calendar. Held over a weekend, it features numerous activities like presentations, signings, demonstrations, books and music fairs by several national and international authors, poets, storytellers, composers, musicians and song-writers. For more details on next year's affair, check the website.

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Every year, the Waikiki Artfest serves as a huge platform for all Hawaiian artists who display their hand-crafted products at Kapiolani Park. Items on sale range from jewelry, clothing, and handbags, to quilts, soap and candles. Guests are also treated to a delicious meal and live music. Admission is free. This event is held around ten times a year, of which the January Pacific Island Arts Festival is the largest one. Call for more details.

Every year, the Waikiki Artfest serves as a huge platform for all Hawaiian artists who display their hand-crafted products at Kapiolani Park. Items on sale range from jewelry, clothing, and handbags, to quilts, soap and candles. Guests are also treated to a delicious meal and live music. Admission is free. This event is held around ten times a year, of which the January Pacific Island Arts Festival is the largest one. Call for more details.

Downtown Honolulu goes above and beyond for this annual parade honoring the reign of King Kamehameha who was responsible for consolidating the islands under one rule in 1795. As part of this 87th celebration massive leis, some measuring thirteen feet in length, will be draped over the king's bronze statue that towers in downtown. The parade, which begins at King and Richards Streets and concludes at Queen Kapiolani Park, features brightly decorated floats, marching bands, and plenty of convertibles full of waving, smiling people with perfect teeth. Admission is free.

Every year, the Waikiki Artfest serves as a huge platform for all Hawaiian artists who display their hand-crafted products at Kapiolani Park. Items on sale range from jewelry, clothing, and handbags, to quilts, soap and candles. Guests are also treated to a delicious meal and live music. Admission is free. This event is held around ten times a year, of which the January Pacific Island Arts Festival is the largest one. Call for more details.

Every year, the Waikiki Artfest serves as a huge platform for all Hawaiian artists who display their hand-crafted products at Kapiolani Park. Items on sale range from jewelry, clothing, and handbags, to quilts, soap and candles. Guests are also treated to a delicious meal and live music. Admission is free. This event is held around ten times a year, of which the January Pacific Island Arts Festival is the largest one. Call for more details.

Every year, the Waikiki Artfest serves as a huge platform for all Hawaiian artists who display their hand-crafted products at Kapiolani Park. Items on sale range from jewelry, clothing, and handbags, to quilts, soap and candles. Guests are also treated to a delicious meal and live music. Admission is free. This event is held around ten times a year, of which the January Pacific Island Arts Festival is the largest one. Call for more details.

Every year in July, the Obon Dance Festival takes place in order to remember and honor the spirits of the dead. Various participants perform dances in Japanese Buddhist temples as others sing traditional folk songs and priests perform rituals to invite the spirits. Colorful lights are hung over the performers and ancestors are offered flowers and food as a symbol of love and respect.

Every year, the Waikiki Artfest serves as a huge platform for all Hawaiian artists who display their hand-crafted products at Kapiolani Park. Items on sale range from jewelry, clothing, and handbags, to quilts, soap and candles. Guests are also treated to a delicious meal and live music. Admission is free. This event is held around ten times a year, of which the January Pacific Island Arts Festival is the largest one. Call for more details.

Every year, the Waikiki Artfest serves as a huge platform for all Hawaiian artists who display their hand-crafted products at Kapiolani Park. Items on sale range from jewelry, clothing, and handbags, to quilts, soap and candles. Guests are also treated to a delicious meal and live music. Admission is free. This event is held around ten times a year, of which the January Pacific Island Arts Festival is the largest one. Call for more details.

This one-day annual event in Waikiki is a new and unique addition to Honolulu's happening festival scene. Held in May 2006 for the first time, the event has already created a stir among the locals. The festival's concept is to bring together the past and present of Waikiki onto one stage. It's an evening of metamorphosis, when you get to see how this place and its culture has evolved and changed over time. Fashion shows, culinary booths, concerts, and art and craft stalls all reflect these changes. It's a perfect platform to see how the "past" and the "present" meet to shape the future.