This weekend is one of the last of summer break for keiki. Enjoy hula or ʻukulele festivals, as well as light displays at Foster Botanical Garden. Here are some of the weekend offerings listed by date.
Saturday, July 19
Attend a hula festival. On Saturday and Sunday, the 48th Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival will return to Frank F. Fasi Civic Grounds in Honolulu. The non-competitive hula festival runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and features hālau performances and cultural workshops. The event includes vendors with locally made items, as well as booths where organizations offer activities such as bamboo stamping, lei making, kapa making and more. Food vendors will offer poke, Polynesian plates, fusion barbecue and more. It often draws more than 12,000 attendees. Parking is available at the Frank F. Fasi Civic Center parking lot. Free. Details.
Talk story with an ʻukulele builder. Molokai resident Eric DeVine, owner of DeVine Guitars and ʻUkuleles, picked up the profession of building instruments after taking a community college class on the Mainland. Today, his custom guitars and ʻukulele designs feature woods from around the world, along with opals, emeralds and black coral. Watch live streaming video at 10 a.m. of the Builder’s Spotlight where DeVine will share how he selects wood for his instruments. The event is part of an ongoing series that features ʻukulele makers across the state and is hosted by Kauaʻi musician Kimo Hussey and Hawaiʻi State Archives. This week, the Builderʻs Spotlight will also feature ʻukulele player Mika Kane, who will demonstrate some of the concepts DeVine describes. After the event, the video will be posted to the Hawaiʻi State Archives’ YouTube Channel. Free.
Midsummer Nightʻs Gleam. Enjoy giant bubbles, communal art projects and interactive experiences. As the sun sets, the garden transforms into light displays across a 14-acre landscape from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu. Live entertainment includes African and taiko drumming groups, classical music, and dance groups. Limited free parking is available on a first come, first served basis at Kauluwela Elementary School. The Foster Garden parking lot is reserved for handicapped parking only for this event. Sunscreen and bug spray are recommended. Tickets are $3 for adults and $1 for keiki. Details.
Night Market at Our Kakaʻako. Get outside and enjoy ʻono grinds and locally made products from more than 80 vendors from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Our Kakaʻako (The Barn at SALT, Auahi St., Keawe St. and Coral St.). There will be live entertainment. The theme of the event is Hoʻomau: Celebrating Continuity and Perseverance of Hawaiian Culture. Free. Details.
Sunday, July 20
Meet the white terns in Downtown Honolulu. You’ve probably seen the white tern, or Manu-o-Kū, while walking in Downtown Honolulu. Meet at 9 a.m. at ʻIolani Palace to take a walk with the Hawaiʻi Audubon Society and Hui Manu o Kū to see some of the places these seaside birds are calling home between Merchant and S. King streets. The fish-eating terns, which are native to Hawaiʻi, have a conservation status of “threatened,” according to the state department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife. RSVP by text: (808)-379-7555.
Catch ʻukulele masters from around the world. The second annual International ʻUkulele Festival of Hawaiʻi will return to the Kapiʻolani Park Bandstand this weekend. Among the headliners is Taimane Gardner, a Hawaiʻi-born ʻukulele virtuoso, who just completed a tour in Europe. Other featured performers include Herb Ohta, Jr., and Kazuyuki Sekiguchi. There will also be performances from ensembles from Canada and Japan, along with keiki from Roy Sakuma ʻUkulele Studios, ʻUkulele Hale, and more. Check out the full line-up of performers. Free.
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Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
