Celebrating Okinawan culture in Honolulu, Hawaii…read more.. This year, the 42nd Annual Okinawan Festival was held at the Hawaii Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday, August 31, and September 1, 2024. Admission fee was $10 for adults; $5 for seniors (age 65+); and free for children age 12 and below We parked for free at Ala Moana Center and walked over. I really didn't want to go. I used to work at the Festival when I was a member of the Hawaii United Okinawan Association (HUOA) because I played in their volleyball league. Our volleyball league ran the Children's Game Booths at Kapiolani Park. We had to get there early to set up and stay late to clean up. It was labor intensive! I have stress just remembering those times... My former co-worker really wanted to go to the Festival. She had purchased A LOT of script from her neighbor who was part of the Live Entertainment. My friend texted me several times and called me to discuss where to meet. She bribed me to go by telling me she was going to give me some script and pay for my Admission Fee... LOL! So... I went... It wasn't as bad as I remembered! The air conditioning, convenient restrooms, and excellent organization made it pleasant! Maybe the challenge was the line for script. There seemed to be only one place to buy script, and it was far away from the food booths. My friend had so much script that she sold some to strangers on our table - she overheard their conversation! As a visitor to the Festival (not as a worker), I was able to wander through the Craft Area, walk past the plants for sale and the Children's Games, stand in line for food, browse through the Country Store, and enjoy the Live Entertainment! It was nice that there were tables and chairs for customers to sit and dine-in! We didn't sign up for the special art demonstration where you can make traditional art... maybe we can do that next year!

Celebrating the culture…read more.. No one does it like the Okinawan Festival as this year they've done it again and what an amazing event. Keeping at the Hawaii Convention Center is a real struggle to get to though the cool air conditioned venue with lots of seating provided to watch the entertainment and to enjoy your foodie feast does make it a fun and festive place to celebrate it all. In the past it has been outdoors at Kapiolani Park which in my opinion was much more difficult to enjoy it all so this is a refreshing chance of scenery and this year it's all in one level so you don't need to find the various rooms upstairs to shop for the merchandise and view the historic background of it all. The countless volunteers and groups made it a fun for all ages as we actually wanted to play some of the children's games shows how fun it truly was. I did get to peek in the Awamori Garden which was lovely oasis to get an adult sip along with some exclusive snacks found only in that area though with countless areas to browse including the craft section it was a great experience and can't wait for 2025. Thank you!

Mango jam was fun on a hot summer day! It was the official first day of summer and boy was it hot!…read moreActually, I don't like mango and I'm semi allergic to it but I went for fun and to socialize cause I'm a little anti! There's lots of free parking sorta- just drive around and something will pop up lol! Just remember if you went up or down the stairs when you exit the structure. I sometimes tend to forget where I parked. They didn't have a lot of vendors there but it was a good amount. A lot of the food places were small businesses that probably has a food truck or small store front. A lot of the places I didn't recognize but some of them had looonnnggg lines which made me a little hungry. They had really good entertainment and had pure heart play one song (without jake) but wow such nostalgia! I was like wow that's my jam .. in high school -_-;; Anyway if you go keep hydrated cause it's hot and you can easily overheat. They do have some water dispensers and some fancy porta potty. I even came here and stumbled across the dachshund group meet up. My baby boy met some of his own people sorta. Well he wasn't very interested to be honest. He was probably like this place is too hot. I didn't get to look at everything cause like I said the line was too long for food so it took up some time. It also closed at 9p so most stuff shut down. We just hung around and let everyone leave first so we don't get stuck in the parking lot getting out.

Better than expected!…read more This is the 4th Mango Jam in Honolulu. It has been held annually on the grounds between City Hall (aka Honolulu Hale) and the Frank Fasi Municipal Building where City Offices are located. This festival can be compared to the 626 Night Market in Los Angeles, but better! Why? 1. Because there's FREE parking - enter from Beretania Street and follow the signs. 2. Because there's FREE admission - just pay the vendors for food, clothing, jewelry, tote bags, etc. that you may see/like/want/buy... 3. Because there's LIVE entertainment by local groups such as Kapena and Kalapana! (Free concert!) 4. Because there are interesting food options - some are inspired by mangoes! This year, we sat under the Ohana Tent which had many folding chairs and a clear view of the stage. (Other attendees sat on blankets in front of the stage.) On my way to the Ohana Tent, I passed by some of the vendors and won a water bottle from the Spectrum booth! Also, I got a fan with the program printed on it from the Information Booth; and a tote bag with a mango print that was distributed during Mayor Kirk Caldwell's appearance! Fresh mango fruit was also being offered to the crowd! Score! This was a fun event, sponsored by the Mayor's Office of Culture and Arts! It's awesome! Thank you Mr. Mayor and our City and County of Honolulu! See you again next year!

Great idea and I was so excited to go! However it was $3 admission and I didn't think was worth the…read moreadmission fee. the event was in the parking lot across the Ward Entertainment Center so at least parking was free and stress free. I went when it opened There were only a handful of food tents. I think Eat the Street even has more vendors and that's a free event. You also had to buy scrips ($1/scrip) to purchase food or drinks. What enticed me to go was garlic ice cream. Dave's ice cream had garlic ice cream for 3 scrips. I was a bit disappointed since it was a really small container (the size of the katsu sauce you get from L&L). The ice cream had a hint of garlic but the vanilla ice cream was more overpowering. They had vendors like Side Street, Auntie Pasto's and Prima to name a few. Everything looked good, however I thought it was a bit pricey so I just took photos rather than got dishes. Hopefully next year the event will be grander and have more garlic dishes.

The concept of this festival was great, but I agree with most of the Yelper sentiment, it was…read moreexecuted rather poorly. We arrived about an hour after it started and between the 3 dollar admission, $5 (domestic) 12-oz beers, long lines, scripts, and half of the vendors running out of their signature garlic or ginger foods, it was kind of disappointing given the potential. That said, I did get to try a few places that I haven't visited yet and I'm inspired to check out. The top of the list is Poke Stop from Waipahu. They had a phenomenal pork hash slider with fried eggplant "fries" with a potent garlic kick to it that was awesome! The place only has OK reviews, but I'll be checking out their shop soon: http://www.yelp.com/biz/poke-stop-waipahu Everything else here was either too long of a line to try or was unremarkable. As for the festival, I'm on the fence whether I'd go to this thing again... probably will with the hope for improvement and more reasonably-priced offerings.

Free and fun... Hawaii Seniors Fair kicked off today,…read moreFriday. At the NBC exhibition hall. Lots of good information about our golden years and how to prepare for yourself or how to make sure your Mom or Dad are on the right path... A buddy brought me here a couple years ago, me dragging and kicking and trying to convince him to go for a hike or play tennis! I am glad I got dragged. Honestly enjoy learning things I would never pick up in my spare time. I got to watch some kupuna do aerobic dancing and show off their youthful Vegas glamor!(see pic). Picked up some neat succulents for the house too. Will remember to visit again next year. Hope you take a chance and spend a couple hours here. We all get golden, might as well learn how to turn into a golden beam of sunshine instead of a golden raisin....hehe!

Super excited as Soto Mission of Hawaii launches their 2024 bon dance on Friday, August 16th, and…read moreSunday, August 17th, in sunny Nuuanu. Lots of ono food, taiko performances and dance the night away with like minded bon dancers (no shame, just follow da person in front of you! With a light breeze cooling the early dancers and volunteers we are anxious to experience the bon dance under the leadership of new Bishop Shuji Komagata and his trusty sidekick and wife Jaymie. Check out my photo of this year's menu.

It's Obon Season in Hawaii! Soto Mission hosts one of the many bon dances that occur on Oahu from…read moreJune to September. Now, I'm not Japanese and at the rate I'm going to these things, the spirit of my Chinese grandmother is going to appear and say the same thing she told my father in his youth: "You not Japanese, why you go to so many bon dances?!" But I'm just going to shrug, tell her we all miss her and ask her how the afterlife is with my grandfather who we all miss dearly too. Any who.... Soto holds a standard bon dance festival, with food, dancing, music, crafts, but relatively few games for children. No food trucks in Festival 2017, but the usual assortment of sushi, chili and rice, bentos, musubi, etc that have become the normal bon dance food. I did not see mochi, but my friends and I came at 6:30 so they may have sold out. The food and crafts are in the basement of the Mission with a huge number of tables for people to sit, eat, enjoy each other's company and make new friends. Long story short, I ended up playing tour guide for my new friend from Los Angeles here on vacation and the bon dance was our third stop, and she loved it as she's never been to a bon dance. So this is tourist friendly on her seal of approval. To the dancing! Honolulu Fukushima Bon Dance Club was the dance club for 2017, but this may change in the future. Dancing started around 7:00 with various types of dance and being open to all people who wanted to dance. There were the ardent professionals with their graceful, well trained moves and the new to the bon dance crowd just enjoying themselves among the festivities. Many people wore their yukatas despite the late afternoon heat, including children. There's some parking on site, but it fills up real fast, so grab whatever street parking you can find. Allegedly the lower school of Hongwanji nearby opens their parking up, but call to confirm. One super nice thing about this bon dance is that it's held right in front of the stairs leading into the Mission. Meaning there are plenty of places to sit down and watch, unlike other bon dances where you have to bring your own chair or just stand the whole time.

This year people could pay with cash or credit card. It's a good thing they didn't have the tickets…read morelike they did last year. Last year it was hard to figure out how many tickets to buy. The gyros was tasty and the line moves quickly. They still ran out of baked goods. The vegetarian baklava is tasty even though they don't use butter. They didn't even have the regular baklava to purchase when I went to the baked goods section. The lemon sorbet was a bit disappointing since they told me it comes with two scoops and when I got it it only had a tiny scoop. They said oh, only comes with one scoop. The scoop didn't even fill half of the plastic container. I liked the fact one could purchase portions of the entrees in the cafeteria area. The moussaka by itself was just what I wanted for $5.00. It didn't seem as crowded a previous years. I think there was a UH football game that night. I'm glad it didn't rain too much while I was there. Nice time listening to music and going Greek.

The Greek fest was full of music, food and culture. Several areas to get home made Greek food…read more They selection of Greek beverages oz, beer and wines. Greek desserts and some merchandise. There was a live band on the main stage and performances in the small theater. There was a eclectic variety of people, children and a few pets. There was a happy and friendly atmosphere. Everyone sat at the table is enjoying their meals and listening to the beautiful music. There was some line dancing and I am problems and problems stational dancing to the beautiful music. Military, With military ID it's free admission The food plates and dessert range from $3 to $14.

2026 Hawaii Rainbow Film Festival. Located in the heart of Honolulu, surrounded by the urban…read morerevival of Chinatown. 2nd floor bar and lounge area allows for drinks and food. Tons of parking in the surrounding public garages.

I was blessed enough to experience various shows at the Hawaii Theatre Center, the most recent…read morebeing a showing of Nosferatu (2024) for Halloween, which was a special experience with some friends who are also into horror flicks. The theater supports both movies as well as live shows, which makes it a unique cultural space. You're not supposed to eat in the theater itself, and if you want to drink you would need to buy a sippy cup-like container from the bar. I suppose it is meant to protect the theater from decay, all these protective measures. The bartender who served us wine was friendly enough. I loved seeing the art around the theater.

Pet Walk 2023 was held at Kapiolani park this year! There was reserved stalls at Waikiki Shell and…read moreoff site parking at Waikiki Elementary. The walk itself started around 845am and it was really hot already. They did the fun run first, small dogs, then large dogs. They also held a costume contest for the doggos and brought in different food and pet vendors to the event. This year was also combined with the wiener derby, so my little kiddo got to race after the walk. It was nice to have both events together this year so its one less thing for me to show up to and it was also nice to have all of our friends together in one spot supporting two awesome causes.

Oh my goodness! This was playmate sensory overload for my puppy! There were hundreds of dogs here…read more I was surprised to see how many people came out for the Pet Walk. My dog had a great time walking the long course, smelling all the other doggies, tasting the free treats. It was a great morning to meet dog lovers, their companions and to support the humane society (where we adopted our doggie!). We also were a part of the humane society ohana picture. Overall, it was a great event for all! Now if only dogs were always allowed at Ala Moana Beach Park....