Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [77]
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HONOLULU FOR CHILDREN
For endless sand and calm waters, take your keiki to Ala Moana Beach Park (Click here), where local families hang out. The Bishop Museum (Click here) is entertaining for kids of all ages. There’s an interactive family art center in the basement of the Honolulu Academy of Arts (Click here).
For more of O′ahu’s great outdoors, head up into the Upper Manoa Valley to the Lyon Arboretum (Click here), then hike to pretty Manoa Falls (Click here).
For the best islandwide activities for kids, Click here.
Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center
On a rainy day when you can’t go to the beach, take your tots to this hands-on, family-oriented museum (Map; 524-5437; www.discoverycenterhawaii.org; 111 ′Ohe St; adult/senior/child 1-17 $8/6/8; 9am-1pm Tue-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat & Sun; ). Occupying a 38,000-sq-ft waterfront site, this was once the city’s garbage incinerator, as evidenced by the surviving smokestack reaching skyward.
Interactive exhibits are geared toward elementary school–aged children and preschoolers. Fantastic You! explores the human body, allowing kids to walk through a mock human stomach. More traditional displays are found in the Your Town section, where kids can drive an interactive fire engine or conduct TV interviews. Two other sections, Hawaiian Rainbows and Your Rainbow World, touch on Hawaii’s multicultural heritage.
From Waikiki, take TheBus 19 or 20; it’s a five-minute walk from the nearest bus stop on Ala Moana Blvd. If you’re driving, there’s limited free parking.
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TOURS
For a self-guided walking tour of Chinatown, see opposite. For more conventional bus tours, Click here.
Hawaii Food Tours (926-3663, 800-715-2468; www.hawaiifoodtours.com; tours incl transportation $99-$149) Former chef and restaurant critic for the Honolulu Advertiser runs a four-hour lunchtime tour sampling Chinatown’s ethnic hole-in-the-walls; a three-hour evening tour delves into traditional Hawaiian and contemporary island cuisine.
Hawai′i Heritage Center (Map; 521-2749; 1117 Smith St; 9:30-11:30am Wed & Fri; tours $10) Insightful walking tours of Chinatown depart from the storefront gallery.
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FESTIVALS & EVENTS
Year-round, festivals and events take place at various venues all over the city, including in Waikiki (Click here).
Chinese New Year (533-3181; www.chinatownhi.com) Between late January and mid-February, Chinatown festivities include a parade, lion dances and firecrackers.
Honolulu Festival (926-2424; www.honolulufestival.com) Two days of Asian-Pacific cultural exchange with music, dance and drama performances in mid-March.
Pan-Pacific Festival (926-8177; www.pan-pacific-festival.com) Three days of Japanese, Hawaiian and South Pacific entertainment in early June, with music, dancing and taiko drumming at the Ala Moana Center.
King Kamehameha Hula Competition (586-0333; http://hawaii.gov) One of Hawaii’s biggest hula contests, with hundreds of dancers competing at the Neal S Blaisdell Center (Map) in early June.
Prince Lot Hula Festival (839-5334; www.mgf-hawaii.org) The state’s oldest and largest noncompetitive hula event at the Moanalua Gardens (Map) in late July.
Hawaii Dragon Boat Festival Colorful dragon boats race to the beat of island drummers at Ala Moana Beach Park (Map) in late August.
Talk Story Festival (768-3003; www.co.honolulu.hi.us/parks/programs) Storytellers gather at Ala Moana Beach Park (Map) in mid-October; Friday is usually spooky stories.
Hawaii International Film Festival (www.hiff.org) This celebration of celluloid screens Pacific Rim and homegrown films in late October.
King Kalakaua’s Birthday Victorian-era decorations and a concert of traditional monarchy-era music by the Royal Hawaiian Band at ′Iolani Palace (Click here) on November 16.
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SLEEPING
Downtown Honolulu doesn’t have much