Maui: Festivals of Aloha events in Hana (hawaiionthecheap.com)

“Aloha Week” was conceived in 1946 as a cultural revival of Hawaiian music, dance, and history—a re-imagined makahiki, the ancient Hawaiian festival held in late-October or early November. In the early years, Aloha Week included a parade and the Waikīkī Hoʻolauleʻa (celebration, aka block party) on Kalākaua Avenue. Dozens of volunteer-run events on neighboring islands were added over the years. In 1991, Aloha Week became “Aloha Festivals”—a statewide celebration of Hawaiian culture.

Today, Aloha Festivals continues to foster the Aloha Spirit by showcasing the unique cultural traditions of Hawaiʻi. There are three signature events in September on the island of O‘ahu: presentation of a Hawaiian Heritage Royal Court, the Waikīkī Hoʻolauleʻa, and the Floral Parade through Waikīkī. These signature Oʻahu events are described in detail below.

In addition, neighboring islands organize independent events September-October. Find information and links to neighbor island events below under the section ʻOhana Events.

Brief history of Makahiki

Hula dancers at Makahiki opening ceremonies 2005 photo

Hula dancers at Makahiki opening ceremonies 2005 USMC photo (public domain)

When the star cluster Makali‘i* appeared on the eastern horizon at sunset, it marked the beginning of ho’oilo (winter season) and the start of a new year—Makahiki.

The Hawaiian Makahiki New Year celebration lasted about four months. It was kapu (forbidden) to engage in war and certain tasks such as deep-sea fishing and farming. This was a practical decision due to heavy rains and high winds experienced during ho’oilo. During the time of Kamehameha I, maka‘āinana (commoners) in each ahupuaʻa (land districts on each island) gave ho‘okupu (offerings) during makahiki as a tax. Ho‘okupu were re-distributed among the aliʻi (chiefs) and kahuna (priests). These offerings included pua‘a (pigs), kalo (taro), ‘uala (sweet potatoes), hulu (feathers), moena (woven mats), and kapa (aka tapa or Hawaiian bark cloth).

Several Hawaiian gods were honored during makahiki, especially Lono-i-ka-makahiki (aka Lono) who is associated with fertility, agriculture, rainfall, music, and peace. Following the distribution of ho‘okupu, the festivities of makahiki commenced and included dramatic pageants, games of strength and strategy, hula (dancing), food of course, and offerings to the gods. A ritual closing ceremony signified the end of makahiki, lifting of kapu, and return to normal farming and fishing activities. The tradition of makahiki faded after the arrival of Europeans and suppression of Hawaiian cultural practices.

Māori names and placements of the nine Matariki stars, along with the Greek names 2021 image by Robert Gendler (CC4)

*The star cluster Makali‘i appears in both the northern and southern hemispheres and therefore has many names. It is also known as Matariki (Māori), Cmaamc (Lakota), collca’ (Quechua), Mutsuraboshi and Subaru (Japanese), and perhaps most commonly as Pleiades (Greek), Messier 45 or M45, or Seven Sisters. There are still more names in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, and many, many more cultures and languages throughout history. The names of the nine brightest stars from Greek mythology are (the “seven sisters”) Asterope, Electra, Merope, Maia, Celaeno, Taygeta, and Alcyone – and their parents, Pleione and Atlas.

O’ahu: Aloha Festivals Signature Events

Aloha Festivals is the largest Hawaiian cultural celebration in the U.S. Aloha Festivals has become a statewide celebration of Hawaiian culture with major events on the island of O‘ahu and independent ʻOhana events on neighboring islands. Thousands of volunteers work together each year to stage the events, which are attended by thousands. Aloha Festivals foster the Aloha Spirit through the perpetuation of the Hawaiian culture and the celebration of the diverse customs and traditions of Hawai‘i.” These community-supported events are made possible through private donations, community sponsors, merchandise sales, and appropriated funds from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority. Donations are tax deductible and welcomed. Besides attending events, here are ways to participate:

Participate at Aloha Festivals events through membership, sponsorship, or in a signature event: royal court member or appearance, a parade unit, or ho‘olaule‘a vendor.
Aloha Festivals shop. Purchase Aloha Festivals ribbons and exclusive merchandise online or at Aloha Festivals signature events.
Donate to Aloha Festivals to keep its signature events free and open to the public.

Hawaiian Heritage Royal Court

Aloha Festivals Royal Court (alohafestivals.com)

After the selection of the Royal Court, the Aloha Festivals opening ceremony kicks off the celebration across the Hawaiian Islands. In a stately ceremony with treasured cultural protocols that honors Hawaiʻi aliʻi (ruling chiefs), the Aloha Festivals Royal Court dresses in regalia once worn only by aliʻi of the highest rank. As representatives of Hawaiʻi’s past, the Royal Court ensures the festival is rooted in the most cherished traditions of ancient Hawaiʻi. The Opening Ceremony also features hula and musical performances.

More info: Aloha Festivals Royal Court Investiture & Opening Ceremony

Waikīkī Hoʻolauleʻa

Waikīkī street festival 2022 photo by Carole Cancler

Aloha Festivals largest block party, the Waikīkī Ho‘olaule‘a is a beachfront street festival like no other! Kalākaua Avenue will be lined with booths showcasing Hawaiʻi cuisine, crafts, and culture. Taste the best of local flavors from around the island in one place. Peruse artisan-made crafts. Enjoy multiple entertainment stages featuring top local artists, award-winning hālau hula, and more.

More info: Aloha Festivals Waikīkī Ho‘olaule‘a

Floral Parade

Royal Hawaiian Band marching in the 2022 Waikīkī Veterans Day Parade photo by Carole Cancler

Royal Hawaiian Band marching in the Waikīkī Veterans Parade 2022 photo by Carole Cancler

Aloha Festivals officially ends with a colorful procession of Hawaiian culture through Waikīkī with the Annual Floral Parade. Participants from marching bands to hālau hula to civic leaders display the unique aloha spirit that unites Hawai‘i’s community. Along with a procession of floats covered with Hawaiian flowers, hula halau (schools), marching bands, and other parade units, a highlight of the Floral Parade is the procession of Pāʻū* riders.

More info: Aloha Festivals Floral Parade and Event Parking for Aloha Festivals events

*pāʻū: the typical article of clothing for women in ancient Hawaiʻi was a pāʻū (skirt) consisting of a rectangular piece of kapa (aka tapa or bark cloth) wrapped around the waist, extending either from beneath the bust (for aliʻi or royalty) or the waistline (for maka‘āinana or commoners), to the knee.

Pāʻū riders

Pāʻū Queen at the Kamehameha Day parade 2022 photo by Carole Cancler

Pāʻū riders are uniquely Hawaiian. By the middle of the 19th century, horses were common in the islands and Hawaiians became expert equestrians. Since Hawaiian wahine (women) rode horses astride rather than sidesaddle, she gathered the skirt of their now western-style dress and tucked it around her legs. The dress was then covered by fabric to protect the dress from muddy and dusty roads. The rider’s pāʻū was made of a single piece of fabric, about 12 yards in length, wrapped around the rider to flow over the stirrups and to the ground. The pāʻū uses no buttons or other fasteners, it is held in place by twisting and tucking the fabric with kukui nuts.

Each pāʻū unit can includes a queen or princess, one or more female attendant riders, and one or more (usually male) escorts. A queen’s unit will have move riders and attendants than a princess. The queen or princess is the only member of the unit who can weave her horse on the route. Following her, the attendant(s) ride straight forward. A page carries the unit’s banner. Finally, there are the pooper scoopers whose job it is to, uh, escort the horses.

There is a pāʻū unit for each island, representing each their flower and color:

Hawaiʻi Island – Flower ʻōhiʻa lehua (endemic Metrosideros polymorpha) and the color red
Kahoolawe. ʻāhina.hina aka ʻāhina (endemic Heliotropium anomalum var. argenteum) and grey/blue
Kauaʻi. mokihana (endemic Pelea anisata) and purple
Lānaʻi. kaunaona (endemic Cuscuta sandwichiana) and orange
Maui. lokelani (introduced Rosa damascena, registered name “Archduke Charles” aka Damask rose and Maui rose) and pink
Molokaʻi. kukui (canoe plant Aleurites moluccana) and green
Niʻihau. kāmoa ke‘oke‘o (white niʻihau pūpū or shell) and brown/white
Oʻahu. Ilima (indigenous Sida fallax) and yellow

Neighbor Islands: ‘Ohana Events

Listed below are community-sponsored events across the Hawaiian Islands to celebrate the spirit of Aloha, including live music performances, ho‘olaule‘a, and cultural activities.

Map illustration: Depositphotos_45737525