Attending a cultural pageant is fantastic solution to be taught and admire music, dance, meals, artwork and crafts of any tradition. It’s a delight to all of the senses. All year long, the Hawaiian Islands host cultural festivals for guests and locals to have fun Hawaii’s distinctive, various and wealthy cultures.
We’ve all the time loved catching a cultural pageant throughout our visits to Hawaii. One factor that we’ve discovered is that these festivals are sometimes a lot extra concerned than what their titles may recommend. For instance, one 12 months we bought to expertise the Kona Espresso Competition and it turned out to be far more than simply espresso tasting. There was a parade, concert events, meals and humanities and crafts, too. One other 12 months, we had been in Kauai for Lei Day (Could 1st) and the occasions had been way more than simply shows of gorgeous lei. There was a royal court docket presentation, cultural demonstrations, music and extra.
It’s been 4 years since we last published the January-through-April record of festivals. Within the final 12 months, extra Hawaii cultural festivals are beginning to have a resurgence. We’re optimistic that 2024 will virtually be again to pre-2020 normalcy.
We curate lists of the highest cultural festivals thrice per 12 months within the following blocks:
- January via April
- Could via August (publishing in April)
- September via December (publishing in August)
To make the record of festivals “skimmable” so that you can discover the dates and island(s) that correspond to your trip, we set up the festivals chronologically beneath every month. The format for every entry is:
Date (or date vary) – Island – Occasion
To maintain this record as streamlined as doable, we hyperlink to the occasions so that you can be taught extra about them and get additional particulars.
JANUARY CULTURAL FESTIVALS
January is often a lightweight month for cultural festivals. See the lists beneath of ongoing, weekly and month-to-month cultural occasions and cultural applications hosted by procuring facilities.
FEBRUARY CULTURAL FESTIVALS
Whole month – Maui – Maui Whale Festival
third – Hawaii, Massive Island – The 31st Annual Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival
10th – All islands – Lunar/Chinese language New Yr – Some celebrations make happen on completely different days.
17th – 18th – Hawaii, Massive Island – Panaewa Stampede Rodeo
17th – 25th – The 47th Annual Waimea Town Celebration
MARCH CULTURAL FESTIVALS
ninth – 10th – Oahu – The 28th Annual Honolulu Festival
ninth – Hawaii, Massive Island – Kona Brewers Festival
26th – All Islands – Prince Kuhio Day – This statewide vacation is noticed on March 26th, however celebrations could happen on different dates as nicely. Verify native newspapers for occasions, significantly on Kauai and Oahu.
29th – 30th – Maui – The 32nd Annual Celebration of the Arts
31st – Hawaii, Massive Island – Opening day of the 61st Annual Merrie Monarch Festival
APRIL CULTURAL FESTIVALS
April 1st – sixth – The 61st Annual Merrie Monarch Festival – That is arguably the highest cultural pageant in all of Hawaii. It’s probably the most tough ticket to safe. Even in case you are not visiting Hawaii Island, you’ll probably be capable to watch among the performances on tv stations all through the Hawaiian Islands. This pageant undoubtedly makes the information.
Tentatively 20th – Maui – The 28th Annual East Maui Taro Festival
27th – Oahu – Waikiki SPAM Jam Festival
There are another festivals that we’ll proceed to test for his or her bulletins for 2024.
Hopefully you’ll be able to incorporate one of many above festivals into your trip to the Hawaiian Islands. If not, no worries. There are different alternatives to study Hawaiian and Polynesian cultures via ongoing occasions hosted by cities and thru cultural applications at Hawaii procuring facilities.
Ongoing Weekly or Month-to-month Cultural Occasions
The next cultural occasions are held all year long both on a weekly or month-to-month foundation.
2nd Saturdays – Kauai – Lihue Saturday Night Market
2nd Sundays – Kauai – Princeville Night Market
4th Sundays – Kauai – Wailua Bay Creators Fair
Fridays – Maui – Maui Friday Town Parties rotating from city to city
Fridays – Kauai – Hanapepe Art Night
One Sunday designated per 30 days – Hawaii, Massive Island – Kokua Kailua Village Stroll
Be aware that we might have listed the Kuhio Beach Hula Show, which is held on Tuesdays, Saturdays and the final Sunday of every month at Waikiki Seashore, however this system just isn’t presently funded for 2024. We’ll preserve an eye fixed out for developments on this program.
Hawaii Procuring Facilities That Host Cultural Applications
Many procuring facilities all through Hawaii host glorious cultural applications. This was a giant shock to us as we first began visiting Hawaii as our native procuring facilities in North Carolina hardly ever supply something of the kind for our native tradition. Some typical examples of cultural applications that you simply may discover in Hawaii procuring facilities are:
- Music and hula performances
- Lei making
- Studying the ukulele
A couple of procuring facilities even host small farmers markets, which is yet one more solution to get to know the locals. At these island farmers markets, you should purchase some domestically grown fruits to take pleasure in in your adventures.
Cultural applications hosted by the procuring facilities are usually free to take pleasure in and are ongoing all year long. (In fact these procuring facilities hope that individuals will store and dine within the middle throughout their go to.)
Listed below are Hawaii procuring facilities that recurrently host cultural applications:
- Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikiki, Oahu
- Waikiki Beach Walk in Waikiki, Oahu
- International Market Place in Waikiki, Oahu
- Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, Oahu
- Whalers Village in Kaanapali (Lahaina/Kaanapali) Maui
- Shops at Wailea in Wailea, Maui
- Lahaina Cannery Mall in Lahaina, Maui (All occasion cancelled till additional discover)
- Coconut Marketplace in Kapaa, Kauai
- Kukui Grove Shopping Center in Lihue, Kauai
- Queens’ MarketPlace in Waikoloa Seashore Resort, Hawaii (Massive) Island
- Kings’ Shops in Waikoloa Seashore Resort, Hawaii (Massive) Island
- Shops at Mauna Lani in Mauna Lani Resort, Hawaii (Massive) Island
Different Alternatives to Uncover Hawaiian Tradition
Sure, there are nonetheless extra choices to understand the native tradition.
- Many eating places host dwell music every day. So, that’s a great alternative to benefit from the native tradition via music. The slack key guitar and ukulele are two devices that Hawaii loves and also you’ll probably take pleasure in.
- Many accommodations supply their very own cultural applications for his or her friends every day. Verify together with your lodge to seek out out what they provide. You may be capable to take hula classes and ukulele classes and make a lei.
Have you ever attended a Hawaii cultural pageant or program? Do you’ve plans to test one out in your upcoming go to?
