Arts & Culture

Meet the artists and craftspeople keeping Hawai‘i traditions alive

Hawai‘i is filled with talented, passionate artists and performers. In recent months we’ve featured an ‘ukulele maker, sculptors, hula performers, Native Hawaiian language experts, anime cosplayers, symphony musicians, local filmmakers, Okinawan drummers, musical theatre performers, and more.

Artists remember George Brooks Veikoso, known as Fiji

Singers, songwriters and actors honored “the king of island-reggae music" in posts on social media and at concerts. George Brooks Veikoso, known as Fiji, moved to Hawaiʻi when he was a teenager.

Katie HellandJuly 29, 2025

Catch the Keʻalohi International Piano Competition: free quarterfinal and semifinal performances

The winner of this competition takes home a $10,000 cash award and the top finalists perform with the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra. The contest draws pianists from around the world to O’ahu, where they are competing this month.

Katie HellandAugust 15, 2025

Auction: bid to support the Bishop Museum

E Ulu A Paʻa, an online auction to benefit the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, opens for bids at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14. The 11-day event benefits the museum and its work.

Katie HellandAugust 13, 2025

Zippy’s Restaurants and others weigh in on Taylor Swift’s new album

Taylor Swift is in her orange era. And Hawaiʻi-based brands are joining in the fun with creative posts on social media. Aloha State Daily rounded up a few from the past 48 hours, following Swift’s announcement of a twelfth studio album: “The Life of a Showgirl.”

Katie Helland & Kady PascualAugust 13, 2025

Goodwill Goes Glam, Made in Hawaii Festival and music: Friday, Aug. 15 through Sunday, Aug. 17

From watching musicians Paula Fuga and Tavana take the stage, to buying locally made products at the Made in Hawaiʻi Festival, there is so much happening across the Islands. Aloha State Daily rounded up a list of ideas of things to do, so you don’t have to.

Katie HellandAugust 13, 2025

Aloha Collection to release Hōkūleʻa special edition bags

This brand is teaming up with the Polynesian Voyaging Society to honor the 50th birthday of Hōkūleʻa, which has inspired generations of new voyagers. The collaboration led to a group of special edition splash-proof bags, which release later this month.

Katie HellandAugust 12, 2025

Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement gets a new name

After more than two decades as the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, the nonprofit has a new name, which replaces five words with just two.

Katie HellandAugust 11, 2025

Artists take history and “put it in a song” for upcoming Oʻahu concert

How do you share a message in Hawaiʻi? Through music and dance, according to Berkeley-based Kumu Hula Māhealani Uchiyama. She will join Grammy winner Kalani Peʻa and a number of Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winners to perform songs from the new album, “Pōpoloheno: Songs of Resilience & Joy,” which celebrates the stories of people of African descent in Hawaiian history.

Katie HellandAugust 09, 2025

Photographing ʻThe Eddieʻ : John Hook takes us behind the lens

If you’ve watched The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, you’ve seen photographers bobbing in the waves to capture iconic images of surfers from around the world. On Friday, Aug. 8, several photographers, including Oʻahu-based John Hook, will share what it is like to capture photos from the water. Hook reflects on how he got started, as well why these photographers wear helmets.

Katie HellandAugust 08, 2025

State Librarian shares plans for Wahiawā Public Library

Learn about outdoor reading spaces and the children’s area planned for the new Wahiawā Public Library.

Katie HellandAugust 07, 2025

Honolulu remembers Hiroshima and Nagasaki with film, music

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there will be a film projection at Waikīkī War Memorial Natatorium on Wednesday and a musical performance at the University of Hawaiʻi’s Kennedy Theatre on Saturday.