What are the must-see festivals in Hawaii

There is nothing better than knowing the must-see festivals in Hawaii to feel the “aloha spirit” of the islands and live experiences full of color, music, dance and Hawaiian food. Here we bring you a selection of the main events that you should go to and what each of them is about:

• Merrie Monarch Hula Festival

Hula dancing is one of the oldest and most deeply rooted traditions in Hawaiian popular culture and the Merrie Monarch Festival is the most important event in this discipline. Over the course of a week, dancers from all over the archipelago gather in a competition divided by categories where they display all their talent in the art.

At this festival, held annually between March and April in Downtown Hilo, you can also see parades, craft booths, and displays of other Hawaiian arts.

• Aloha Festivals

Celebrated since 1946, the Aloha Festivals are a series of cultural events that bring together thousands of people year after year to celebrate Hawaiian traditions. They are held in September at different locations on the island of Oahu. At these festivals, you can enjoy all the hospitality, joy, and aloha spirit that characterizes Hawaii. At the different venues, you will find live music shows, parades, educational workshops, and traditional food stands.

• Eo E Emalani I Alakai Festival

In honor of Queen Emma, ​​this festival is celebrated every year in Kauai in October. Both locals and tourists gather to celebrate Hawaiian culture with music shows, dances, craft workshops, and Hawaiian cuisine. This event focuses on remembering Hawaii’s history, preserving the culture, and also raising awareness about the archipelago’s ecological care.

• Lei Day

When you know which are the must-see festivities in Hawaii, you will know that in Hawaiian culture, giving fresh flower necklaces is used as a symbol of love, peace, friendship, or welcome. These necklaces, called lei, have their special day of celebration on May 1st of each year. Throughout that day, the streets are filled with color with parades, demonstrations, contests, and lei-making workshops. If you are in Hawaii on that date, you cannot miss this beautiful event.

• King Kamehameha Day

Every June 11th of each year, King Kamehameha Day is celebrated, a holiday that remembers the life and legacy of Kamehameha I, the first Hawaiian monarch and the one who achieved the unification of the islands into a single nation in the 18th century. It’s a day where you’ll learn a lot about Hawaii through historical reenactments, cultural activities, and commemorative rituals.

• Obon Festival

With the purpose of paying homage to ancestors, the Obon Festival is a celebration of Japanese origin that connects the spiritual world with the earthly one. In this event, held in Waimea, on the Big Island, Japanese culture joins with Hawaiian culture to honor the dead and celebrate their visit to the world of the living with music, dance, artistic exhibitions, Japanese food, and Buddhist ceremonies.

• Ironman World Championship

Between the months of September and October, Hawaii hosts the most important Triathlon championship in the world. Athletes and fans of this sport come to the Big Island to participate in the difficult tests where they must overcome swimming in open waters in the Pacific Ocean, cycling through lava deserts, and running a marathon under the intense Hawaiian heat.

• Traditional luau parties

If there are reasons to celebrate, Hawaiians organize a luau, which is a party or banquet that includes traditional food, drinks, music, hula dancing and games. These events have been held since the first Polynesians inhabited the island and continue to this day, where Hawaiians celebrate weddings, births, graduations or birthdays. Would you like to be invited to a luau?

If you are planning the tours you will take on your next trip, we invite you to check out our itineraries to see the best of Hawaii.

Don’t miss the opportunity to learn to dance hula, make your own lei or try the exquisite local dishes when you learn about the unmissable festivities in Hawaii that we detail for you. The aloha spirit and the hospitality of the locals will make you feel at home on any of the islands of this spectacular archipelago. Consult our experts at We Travel USA to help you organize your long-awaited trip.