When the 32nd Annual Made in Hawai‘i Festival, presented by Hawaiian Airlines, returns to Honolulu next month, organizers say it'll be the biggest festival yet, with more than 800 vendor booths spanning nearly 300,000 square feet across two nights and two full days.
Tickets for the festival go on sale Aug. 1.
As previously reported, the days and times of the festival have changed from past years due to construction at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, where the event will be held.
The event is set for Aug. 20 to 23:
- Thursday, Aug. 20, 6:30 to 10 p.m. VIP Access Night presented by Huaka‘i by Hawaiian. Tickets are $25. Presale tickets will be available through Huakaʻi by Hawaiian.
- Friday, Aug. 21, 6:30 to 10 p.m. Preview night. Tickets are $20. Presale tickets will be available through Central Pacific Bank sponsor links.
- Saturday, Aug. 22, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. General admission. Tickets are $9.
- Sunday, Aug. 23, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. General admission. Tickets are $8.
Limited pre-sale tickets for Thursday and Friday will be available through select sponsor links with limited public tickets remaining. You can buy tickets at madeinhawaiifestival.com starting Aug. 1.
In addition to the hundreds of vendors, the festival also will feature live entertainment, chef demos, fashion shows, tastings and more, an announcement Monday said. But there's plenty of other changes to note this year, too.
According to that announcement, here's what's new in 2026:
- The event will expand to the third floor of the convention center with 100 brand new booths, installations, a stage and more.
"We are always looking at expanding [to] meet the needs of our vendors and our shoppers," MIHF spokesperson Olena Heu told Aloha State Daily in an email. "The Hawai‘i Convention Center has a lot of space and additional rooms ... . We were entertaining expanding before but also needed to see what was available based on the construction on site. It worked out well this year that we are able to expand with over 100 new booths on the third floor and within the third floor concourse, with additional staging, food and drink, and seating."
The expansion also aimed to provide more room on the first floor, she continued, so it's a "bit more spacious and relieves any congestion downstairs so folks will be on two floors for shopping, eating and exploring." - Those who buy a ticket online and in advance will be able to select from available suggested arrival times for general admission days Saturday and Sunday.
"In recent years the shoppers are very excited about being the first to see the festival and get their shopping on," Heu says. "With general admission tickets in the past, people would line up for hours to get into the festival before the doors opened. We hope that selecting from your suggested arrival time will help to disperse the number of guests arrival, as they can see what windows are available for entry."
According to Heu, the arrival windows are hourly and, for example, if those buying a ticket see that the times before 11 a.m. are not available, she says the hope is that attendees will choose a time later in the day to help with the admission flow.
"Historically, without timed arrival, the line to get in was long before we opened, and for about an hour or two. With this, guests can arrive during a designated arrival time to help ease the line congestion and minimize wait times." - Expanded parking and transportation options will be available on Saturday, Aug. 22, and Sunday, Aug. 23, with paid parking available at two off-site locations along with round-trip shuttle service.
Kaimukī High School will have 600-plus parking stalls available for $5, payable onsite with cash only, while the Stan Sheriff Center will have more than 3,000 parking stalls for $10, payable onsite with card only.
The round-trip shuttle service, provided by Roberts Hawai‘i, is $6 and available from both parking locations. You can grab a shuttle ticket on the festival website starting Aug. 1. Those who do so will receive a "Priority Pass," Monday's announcement noted, which grants access to a designated festival entrance "designed to provide a more streamlined arrival experience."
Heu says this is the first time the festival has coordinated off-site parking and a designated shuttle for attendees.
"It incorporates a lot of moving parts and we hope this will provide some parking relief for guests and also help to streamline the admission process," she says. - According to Heu, the line this year will run from the convention center toward Kalākaua Avenue and Waikīkī then down the Ala Wai Promenade, eliminating the line running through the residential area off of Atkinson Drive and toward Ala Moana.
- A kūpuna and accessibility assistance area offers lobby drop-off, seating, support and guidance for those with mobility needs.
MIHF is produced by the Hawai‘i Food Industry Association, or HFIA.
“For more than 30 years, the Made in Hawaiʻi Festival has served as the state’s premier showcase for locally made products, connecting thousands of residents and visitors with Hawaiʻi’s most innovative producers, artisans, and food and beverage companies,” the festival website notes. “What began as a platform to support local businesses has evolved into one of Hawaiʻi’s most anticipated annual events and a critical economic driver for hundreds of companies statewide.”
A record-breaking MIHF drew approximately 70,000 attendees and generated approximately $10 million in sales in 2024. The festival saw about 70,000 visitors over three days last year and vendors reported sales just under $10 million, Heu previously told ASD.
With the changes this year, Heu told ASD that organizers are "optimistic" that they'll see similar numbers this year.
ASD attended the festival last year and caught up with a handful of the small business owners who set up shop. Read that write-up here.
Aloha State Daily is an ‘Ohana Sponsor for the Made in Hawai‘i Festival. Stop by our booth to say “aloha,” play some games, win prizes and learn more about the work we do.
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
