Hawaii cultural festivals & special events: September - December 2019

If you’re contemplating a late 2019 trip to Hawaii, perhaps one of the upcoming festivals will be the deciding factor. Fall is a great time to visit Hawaii and catching one of the many cultural events provides icing on the cake.

We’re listing the upcoming festivals in chronological order and noting the island to help you quickly skim through them. Note that some festivals, such as the Festivals of Aloha and the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival, have scattered dates and/or have multiple events over several days.

September

August 31 – Oahu – Opening ceremonies for Oahu’s Festivals of Aloha.

6th – Maui – Maui Festivals of Aloha Kickoff at Wailuku First Friday. See this link for more information.

7th – Hawaii (Big) Island – Poke Contest. This event is part of the Festivals of Aloha for the Big Island.

7th – Maui -La ‘Ulu (Breadfruit Day) – a celebration of the Polynesian food staple, breadfruit. See this link for more details.

14th – Hawaii (Big) Island – Clyde “Kindy” Sproat Falsetto & Storytelling Competition.This event is part of the Festivals of Aloha for the Big Island.

14th – Maui – 18th Annual Richard Hoopii Leo Kiekie Falsetto Competition in Kapalua. This event is part of Festivals of Aloha on Maui.

14th to 15th – Maui – Maui’s Festivals of Aloha Ho’olaule’a in Lahaina at the big banyan tree.

21st – Oahu – 67th Annual Waikiki Ho’olaule’a which is part of the Aloha Festivals. For more details see this link.

21st – Hawaii (Big) Island – 44th Annual Waimea Paniolo Parade and Waimea Ho’olaula’a – A parade celebrating the paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) and a big Hawaiian-style celebration that’s part of the Festivals of Aloha for the Big Island.

22nd to 28th -Kauai – Kauai Mokihana Festival – A week-long Hawaiian cultural festival.

28th – Oahu – 73rd Annual Floral Parade – Part of the Aloha Festivals. See this link for more details.

28th – Lanai – True Hawaiian Spirit Celebration Ho’olaule’a. This event is part of the Maui Nui Festivals of Aloha.

October

3rd to 6th -Maui – 97th Maui Fair

5th – Hawaii (Big) Island – The Hawaii Food & Wine Festival begins. This is the only event of this particular festival on Hawaii Island.

11th to 12th – Molokai – Festivals of Aloha on Molokai. See this link for the schedule of events.

12th – Kauai – Emalani Festival – A day of music, dance and more honoring life and legacy of the Hawaiian Queen Emma.

18th to 19th – Kauai – Kauai Chocolate and Coffee Festival

18th to 20th – Maui – The Maui events of the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival take place.

19th to 26th- Hana, Maui – The Festivals of Aloha for the Hana community take place. See this link for the complete line up of events.

23rd – 27th – Oahu – The Hawaii Food & Wine Festival events of Oahu take place.

31st – All islands – Halloween – Check with your concierge and local newspapers for special events. Also check for special events and trick or treating at local shopping centers. In Hawaii, Lahaina, Maui is known for their Halloween celebration with Front Street becoming one big Halloween Party with a children’s costume parade, family-friendly activities, music and more. See our Halloween in Hawaii article for more suggestions.

November

1st to 10th – Hawaii (Big) Island – The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival is in it’s 49th year.

TBD – Kauai – Coconut Festival. Dates are TBD, but are typically held in early November. Eventually their website will be updated with 2019 information. At the time of writing, it still shows 2018 information.

7th to 9th – Maui – 29th Annual Hula O Na Keiki – A celebration of hula performed by children.

24th – Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival “Kauai Style” is in their 27th year. See this link for more information.

December

6th – Kauai – Opening night of the 23rd Annual Festival of Lights. Note that there are additional nights of the Festival of Lights throughout December.

7th – Oahu – Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is honored at Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

7th – Oahu – Honolulu City Lights opening night with a parade and more! Note that the traditional displays and lights will be on throughout December.

TBD – Maui – Lighting of the Banyan Tree in Lahaina. Check VisitLahaina.com for future details.

Christmas season – All Hawaiian Islands – Celebrate the season with aloha. Hawaiian style Christmas decorations are unique to the islands. Special events including music, Santa’s arrival and more can be found across the islands. Pick up the local newspapers for a listing of events. As the time draws nearer to December, we’ll update our Waikiki Christmas and Maui Christmas posts.

31st – New Year’s Eve – Welcome 2020 with celebrations all across Hawaii. We create some of the most comprehensive lists of New Year’s Eve fireworks and events throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Our lists are currently in flux as we await the announcements of the coming celebrations, however you can take a peek at them now to get an idea of what may happen again this coming season. As the time draws nearer, these lists will be fully updated:

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We’ve listed the major events, but there are many more festivals and events going on throughout the year. An easy way to discover more events is to use the search feature at www.GoHawaii.com/trip-planning/events-festivals

Around December or January, we plan to create a list of the major cultural festivals for January through March 2020.

Which festival or event would you like to attend?