It’s August in the islands of aloha — here’s what not to miss.
While state offices and some institutions close for Statehood Day on the third Friday in August, the admission of Hawaii into the United States in 1959—after nearly 60 years of territorial status—typically doesn’t spur many contemporary celebrations. Yet the month does bring lively opportunities to celebrate the indigenous culture and those whose customs arrived over the last two centuries.
Featured image by Jeanne Cooper
Oahu
Billed as Hawaii’s largest ethnic festival, the 43rd Okinawan Festival Aug. 30-31 at Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu will be an excellent way to explore the food, music, dance and traditions of one of the major contributors to plantation-era Hawaii. The 21st Korean Festival Aug. 2 at Honolulu Hale Civic Grounds showcases the culture of a later wave of immigrants to Hawaii, including food, family-friendly activities, K-Pop music and other live entertainment.
Here are highlights of events around Oahu in August:
The first major showing of the Impressionist artist’s work in 25 years, “Mary Cassatt at Work” will be on view at the Honolulu Art Museum through Oct. 12, with several related events in August. The documentary “Mary Cassatt: Painting the Modern Woman” has seven screenings between Aug. 7 and Aug. 30, while curators from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, who organized the show, lead live discussions of Japanese printmaking and Cassatt’s innovations Aug. 8 and 10. The exhibition includes Cassatt’s print “The Banjo Lesson,” part of the museum’s original 1927 collection donated by founder Anna Rice Cooke.
Hear the next generation of steel guitar virtuosos at the free Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival—Keiki Kine (“Kid Version”) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 15 at Kahala Mall. Five guitarists ages 12 to 18 will sing and play traditional and contemporary Hawaiian music, accompanied by backup musicians that include fellow students from Alan Akaka’s Ke Kula Mele Hawaii School of Hawaiian Music.
Everything’s locally sourced or produced at the Made in Hawaii Festival Aug. 15-17 at Hawaii Convention Center, featuring thousands of items by hundreds of vendors of food and drink, clothing, jewelry, arts and crafts, body care products, unique gifts and more. Award-winning Hawaiian musicians will take the stage to serenade the shoppers. Tickets (just $8) go on sale Aug. 1
Maui
The Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association’s annual championship regatta—the state’s largest such competition—returns to Maui for the first time since 2017. Hanakaoo Park, just north of Lahaina, hosts the Aug. 2 races and festival, expected to draw 4,000 paddlers in koa wood canoes.
Here are highlights of other events around Maui in August:
The Emma Farden Sharpe Hula Festival, named for the late kumu hula and recording artist from one of Maui’s most celebrated musical families, will get you swaying Aug. 22-23 at Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows. The festival begins with a Friday evening hula concert at the resort’s outdoor Branches venue and continues Saturday with performances by hula halau (troupes), a hula and ukulele workshop, free keiki activities and exhibits.
The 27th annual Maui Calls Benefit Gala, the major fundraiser for the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului, features gourmet food and sake and wine tastings, live entertainment, silent and live auctions and dancing under the glowing roof of the Yokuichi Pavilion. Chefs from Four Seasons Resort Maui, Leilani’s on the Beach, Star Noodle, Ko and many other top Maui restaurants prepare ample pupus for sampling, while winemakers include Fraiche Wine, Treasury Wine Estates and O’Neill Vintners & Distiller.
Aloha Maui Pride hosts its monthly Pride Brunch Aug. 2 at Nalu’s South Shore Grill in the Azema Shopping Center Kihei. Held the first Sunday of the month from 8 to 10:30 a.m., the brunch includes a $15 buffet breakfast and a la carte options along with the chance for LGBT+ people and allies to mingle in a welcoming space.
Hawaii Island
Launched in 1972, the Queen Liliuokalani Outrigger Canoe Race now draws paddlers from all over the globe as well as Hawaii flock for four days of racing over the Labor Day weekend. The Saturday events, on Aug. 29 this year, are highlights for spectators, who can watch the blessing of outrigger canoes and paddlers at Kamakahonu Beach (next to Kailua Pier) before the women’s teams depart Kailua Pier for Honaunau Bay 18 miles away; the men’s teams travel in the opposite direction and arrive at the pier in the afternoon. There’s also a torchlight parade through town in the evening.
Here are more highlights for August on Hawaii Island:
Hamakua Jodo Mission, the first sanctioned Buddhist temple in Hawaii, hosts its annual Obon Festival Aug. 9 in Honokaa. Honoring the spirits of ancestors, the event includes Buddhist services at 5 and 6 p.m. before the free evening festival of traditional bon dances and taiko drumming and modern pleasures such as food trucks, a photo booth and door prizes.
North Hawaii Hospice’s annual Floating Lantern Ceremony, Aug. 24 at the Fairmont Orchid beachfront Coconut Grove, offers a moving way to honor lost loved ones. For a suggested donation of $25, participants can decorate a special paper lantern to be illuminated at sunset and placed in a cove to float toward the ocean before being collected after dark. The otherwise free event also typically includes Hawaiian music, hula, chanting and taiko drumming.
If Kilauea isn’t erupting when you visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, be sure to visit the spectacular works in their own right at the Volcano Art Center’s gallery inside the park and at its Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village. The latter currently features the third Volcano Biennial Wood Show, open through Aug. 10, which showcases the islands’ indigenous hardwoods and other exotic woods in exquisite sculptures, bowls and furniture.
Kauai
Hawaiian culture traces its origin to Tahiti and the Marquesas, thanks to their fearless voyagers who navigated their way to the islands more than a millennium ago. The 23rd Heiva i Kauai, Aug. 2-3 at Kapaa Beach Park, celebrates the connection with Tahitian dance and drumming competitions for all ages, a fire knife exhibition and competition on Saturday, Polynesian craft demonstrations and vendors of Tahitian and other Pacific Island art, clothing, woodwork, jewelry, gifts and (of course) local food.
Here are other fun events on Kauai this month:
Runners in the Aug. 31 Kauai Marathon and Half Marathon Aug. 31 share the first 11 miles of the course that starts in front of Poipu Shopping Village before the half-marathoners head toward Kukuiula Resort and the marathoners begin the challenging uphill climb to Lawai and Kalaheo, then descent to Poipu for the finish. Racers and supporters can all enjoy the finishers’ party at Koloa Landing with food, refreshments and live entertainment until early afternoon, as well as the expo at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Aug. 29-30. Kids can take part in the Keiki Run’s variety of much shorter races Aug. 30.
Art and craft sales abound on Kauai, but for some of the most intriguing shopping, you’ll want to peruse the eclectic wares at the Community Yard Sale from 8 a.m. to noon Aug. 23 at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Lihue. Proceeds from table rentals benefit the YWCA Women’s Shelter and St. Michael’s First Responders Ministry.
Revel in a kaleidoscope of locally grown orchids at the Garden Island Orchid Society’s Summer Orchid Show & Sale Aug. 15-16 at the United Church of Christ in Hanapepe. Admission is free, and includes demonstrations and talks by orchid enthusiasts and experts.
