The prestigious Merrie Monarch Festival wrapped up this weekend in Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island—and the hula and mele were nothing short of spectacular. Kaʻōnohikaumakaakeawe Kananiokeakua Holokai Lopes, who represented the Oʻahu-based hālau Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e, took home the title of Miss Aloha Hula 2024 on Thursday night. The Oʻahu hālau, under the […]
Step back in time and into the heart of Hawaiian hospitality at the Old Lahaina Lūʻau, which reopened its doors on March 12 following a seven-month hiatus. The return of Old Lahaina Lūʻau marks a historic milestone and a beacon of hope after the Aug. 8 wildfire that destroyed Lahaina Town, including homes inhabited by
It’s the 25th anniversary of HAWAIʻI Magazine’s annual Photo Contest—and we’re looking for photos that showcase the beauty of the Islands. You could win a trip to Kauaʻi! Submissions are now open for the contest with the following categories; Land, Ocean, People, Wildlife, and Sunrise or Sunset, and Maui. The contest runs until Sunday, Oct.
The 61st annual Merrie Monarch Festival runs from March 31 to April 6, with the competition held at the Edith Kanakaʻole Multipurpose Stadium in Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island. One of the largest events of the year, the festival features three straight days of competition—the Miss Aloha Hula competition on April 4, the kahiko division on
There aren’t many options for all-inclusive vacations in Hawaiʻi, at least those provided by hotels. (The luxe Sensei Lānaʻi offers all-inclusive packages tailored for specific wellness experiences, and others have packages centered around dining or activities.) Now there’s a hotel in Waikīkī offering an all-inclusive package that makes planning a vacation to Oʻahu that much
In a step toward modernizing its fleet, Hawaiian Airlines added the first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to its aircraft lineup. The aircraft, named Kapuahi (a red giant star known as Aldebaran in Western astronomy), will debut to passengers on April 15, when it will operate the carrier’s nonstop daily flights between Honolulu and San Francisco. The
Mother Nature giveth and Mother Nature taketh away, such is the case with the heart-shaped rock that once sat adjacent to the famous Nākālele Blowhole on Maui. Both naturally occurring phenomena were born from years of erosion, which is also the environmental factor that caused one of them to break. Following rumors that a tourist
Six months ago—on Aug. 8, 2023—wildfires destroyed the historic town of Lahaina on Maui. The fires, exacerbated by dry conditions and ferocious winds, killed at least 100 people and caused widespread damage. Thousands of structures, many of them homes, were burned to the ground. Front Street—the main roadway that follows the ocean—was destroyed, too, along
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series about Chef Zach Laidlaw, a West Maui farmer and chef who has greatly impacted his community after losing his home in the Lahaina fires. Another of Maui’s incredible chefs is getting his moment in the spotlight. That spotlight looks a little different, based on
In 2018 an eruption of Kīlauea volcano on Hawaiʻi Island caused major damage the island, destroying more than 700 homes and devastating residential areas in Puna. It also damaged the summit area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Halemaʻumaʻu crater grew from 280 feet deep to about 1,600 feet deep, and its diameter more than doubled.
Hawaiʻi native Carissa Moore, the five-time world surfing champion and first-ever Olympic surfing gold medalist, will be stepping away from the sport after the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer. On Instagram the 31-year-old posted: “This is by no means the end. I’d like to think of this instead as an evolution, the start of the
Remember the old Kodak Hula Show at the Waikīkī Shell? Well, it’s coming back—sort of. The city, along with the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, announced yesterday that a new hula show at the same location will launch on Feb. 15. Called the Kilohana Hula Show, it will be a free, hour-long performance of authentic
