Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [7]
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PRINCE LOT HULA FESTIVAL late Jul
One of Hawaii’s premier Hawaiian cultural festivals, Prince Lot (Click here) is notable for its noncompetitive hula event, which gives it an even more graceful, traditional feeling.
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KOLOA PLANTATION DAYS CELEBRATION late Jul
On Kauai’s south shore, this nine-day festival (Click here) is a huge celebration of sugar-plantation heritage and island life. It’s like a state fair, Hawaii-style, with diverse events including a parade, rodeo, canoe race, keiki (children’s) hula, music and much more.
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HAWAIIAN INTERNATIONAL BILLFISH TOURNAMENT late Jul–Aug
Kailua-Kona, on the Big Island, is the epicenter of big-game fishing – particularly for Pacific blue marlin – and for 50 years this has been Hawaii’s grand tournament (Click here). It’s accompanied by a week of festive entertainment.
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MAUI ONION FESTIVAL weekend in Aug
For a weekend in August, Maui’s famously sweet onions inspire delicious events, appealing to gourmet and gourmand alike. It’s held in Ka’anapali’s Whalers Village (Click here).
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SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER
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ALOHA FESTIVALS Sep-Oct
Begun in 1946, Aloha Festivals is the state’s premier Hawaiian cultural festival, an almost nonstop, two-month series of events across the islands. On each island, the signature event is a Native Hawaiian royal court procession; these occur at ’Iolani Palace (Click here), Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park (Click here) and Lihu’e (Click here), among others. For a complete listing of events, see the website http://alohafestivals.com.
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QUEEN LILI’UOKALANI CANOE RACE Labor Day weekend
Outrigger canoeing is alive and well, and fall is the season for long-distance events – beginning with the Queen Lili’uokalani (Click here), two days of outrigger canoe races along the Big Island’s Kona Coast.
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KAUA’I MOKIHANA FESTIVAL mid-late Sep
On Kaua’i, the week-long Mokihana Festival includes an exceptional three-day hula competition in Po’ipu (Click here), and in Lihu’e, the Kaua’i Composers Contest & Concert (Click here). Both are fantastic opportunities to experience contemporary Hawaiian artistry and culture. The festival culminates in a royal court procession.
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NA WAHINE O KE KAI late Sep
This is the all-women sister event (Click here) of the all-male Moloka’i Hoe (opposite). Both are legendary long-distance outrigger canoe races that traverse the 41-mile Ka’iwi Channel between Moloka’i and O’ahu.
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COCONUT FESTIVAL early Oct
You can’t call yourself a Coconut Festival (Click here) and not get a little nutty. In fact, Kapa’a on Kaua’i gets downright silly, with two days of pie-eating contests, coconut crafts, a huge cook-off and entertainment.
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EO E EMALANI I ALAKA’I early Oct
On Kaua’i, Koke’e State Park (Click here) reenacts Queen Emma’s historic 1871 journey to Alaka’i Swamp, with a one-day festival full of hula and Hawaiian music and crafts.
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IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP early Oct
On the Big Island (Click here), this legendary triathlon is the ultimate endurance contest, combining a 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike race and 26.2-mile marathon. Watch 1700 athletes wear themselves to the nub. (For more triathlons, p87.)
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MOLOKA’I HOE mid-Oct
Like Na Wahine O Ke Kai (opposite), this is the men’s version of the grueling outrigger canoe race (Click here) between Moloka’i and O’ahu.
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HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL late Oct
This highly regarded celebration of Pacific Rim cinema screens some 150 films in a dozen venues statewide. The focus is on Asian-, Polynesian- and Hawaiian-focused and -made films, by emerging