Home : 50 Ways to Love Oahu : Festivals

Time your trip to enjoy one of Oahu’s fun filled festivals and special events.

Experience the vibrant cultures of Asia, the Pacific, and Hawaii at the annual Honolulu Festival March 13-15, 2009. This exciting event features educational programs and activities that promote understanding, economic cooperation, and ethnic harmony between the people of Hawaii and the Pacific Rim. Dance performances, traditional art and crafts demonstrations, and an amazing Kalākaua Avenue parade are all part of the festivities. www.honolulufestival.com

The annual three-day Lei Day Celebration in Honolulu is dedicated to the artistry and custom of giving and receiving lei—the fresh floral garlands that play such an integral role in every day Hawaiian life. On March 7, 2009 the Lei Queen is selected. This important role goes to a woman knowledgeable in the art of lei-making and hula who conveys the spirit of aloha with warmth and dignity. May 1 features the Lei Queen investiture ceremony, the Lei Contest exhibit, live musical entertainment, and performances by hula hālau (hula schools). On May 2, special events honor the Hawaiian monarchy. The public is invited to drape lei on the crypts of Hawaiian royals and to attend a ceremony at Kawaiāhao Church. www.honolulu.gov/parks/programs/leiday/

The Pan-Pacific Festival June 5-7, 2009 marks 30 years of promoting relationships between Hawaii and the Pan-Pacific region. Thousands of musicians, artists, and dancers from Pacific Rim nations will present a weekend showcase of entertainment with drumming, dance, pageantry, parades, and music. Highlights include the Hoolaulea (street party) along Waikīkī’s Kalākauau Avenue featuring five stages filled with hula, Japanese dance, and taiko drummers; the Hula Festival with Japanese and Hawaiian hula hālau (hula schools) performances; and the Pan-Pacific Parade with performers and colorful floats. www.pan-pacific-festival.com

Spend a day soaking in the beauty and majesty of hula at the 32nd Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival July 19, 2009 at gorgeous Moanalua Gardens in Honolulu. This spectacle is Hawaii’s largest non-competitive hula event, features hula hālau (hula schools) from Oahu, and honors Prince Lot Kapuaiwa who revived this once banned cultural treasure in the district of Moanalua. Hula kāhiko (ancient hula and chant) and auana (modern) hula performances will all be part of this program. www.mgf-hawaii.org

Head over to Oahu’s glorious North Shore for the Haleiwa Arts Festival Twelfth Annual Summer ArtFest July 18-19, 2009 at Haleiwa Beach Park for unique gifts and souvenirs. View and purchase original works by over 100 juried visual artists working in an array of media including oil, acrylic, and watercolor paintings, ceramics; sculpture; fabric; serigraphy; jewelry; and glass. Live music and dance performances, storytelling, cultural history tours, arts demonstrations and displays, and children’s activities will fill the weekend. North Shore businesses and galleries will offer unique events, attractions, and promotions throughout the event. www.haleiwaartsfestival.org

Come hear the beloved music of Hawai'i at the 39th Annual Ukulele Festival July 19, 2009 at Kapiolani Park Bandstand in Waikīkī. Ukulele legend Roy Sakuma and his sponsors keep the enchanting Hawaiian music alive at this yearly free concert featuring the finest professional and amateur ukulele players from the islands and around the world along with an ukulele orchestra of more than 700 students, most of them children. www.roysakuma.net/ukulelefestival/

Immerse yourself in the enchanting sounds of Kī hōalu (slack key guitar) at the 27th Annual Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival August 16, 2009 at Queen Kapiolani Park in Waikīkī. This festival celebrates and perpetuates this distinct Hawaiian acoustical guitar music which originated with 19th century Hawaiian paniolo (cowboys) and continues to gain popularity and win Grammy awards in the Best Hawaiian Music category. Nearly 20 musicians and musical groups, including renowned slack key musicians and Grammy winners, headline this delightful concert. www.slackkeyfestival.com/

Discover local products, food, and entertainment during the Made in Hawaii Festival August 15-17, 2009 at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall & Arena in Honolulu. The festival provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity to find unique, Hawaiian-made gifts and mementoes to take or send home. Everything from locally produced foods to tote bags, apparel, jewelry, bath and body items, candles, home furnishings, and arts and crafts will be available. Along with terrific shopping, the Festival includes top Hawaiian entertainers and cooking demonstrations by Hawaiian chefs using local ingredients. www.madeinhawaiifestival.com

Enjoy the water-oriented action and fun August 23-29, 2009 in Waikīkī during Duke’s OceanFest, sponsored by the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation (ODKF). This annual festival is dedicated to the legacy of native Hawaiian Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, a beloved three-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming also known as the “Father of International Surfing.” The week launches with Duke’s OceanFest Blessing at Duke Kahanamoku Statue and continues with competitions in canoe racing, surfing, stand up paddle, tandem surfing, ocean swimming, beach volleyball, and surf polo. There will also be a luau, outdoor movies under the stars, and the final Waikīkī Lei Procession and Draping of Duke’s Statue. www.dukefoundation.org

Surf’s up on Oahu’s famed North Shore as men and women compete in November and December during Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, the final events on the Association of Surfing Professionals’ 2009 calendar. The competitions kick off with the Op Pro at Haleiwa, continue with the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing and women’s Roxy Pro at Sunset Beach, and finish with the Billabong Pipeline Masters at Banzai Pipeline. www.triplecrownofsurfing.com