WHAT'S GOING ON IN
HONOLULU... Hula is performed nightly in Waikiki. Ask our Hawaii Specialist to suggest local events during your visit in Honolulu! Ongoing Activities
Oahu Calendar of Events |
 The POLYNESIAN
CULTURAL CENTER on Oahu is spending $2.8 million to make one-third of its
attractions FREE to visitors. The center also moved its Polynesian Museum
from inside the center to outside the front ticket gates and made it FREE to the public.
The center is building an ADMISSION-FREE, outdoor Polynesian Island Exhibit
and a Performing Arts Area outside the gates, as well. Access to the
center's existing restaurants and shopping plaza also will be FREE.
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Ongoing
Activities In February, 2003, the ALOHA TOWER MARKETPLACE debuted a FREE, one-hour hula show celebrating the history of Honolulu's waterfront. Na La O Ke Awa (Harbor Days) uses chant and dance to tell the recent history of the area, including such highlights as the days of King Kalakaua, whose reign began in the 1870s; the arrival of immigrants; and a look at modern activities. The show starts at noon on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in the marketplace's center atrium. For a romantic evening, visit the Star of Honolulu for a dinner cruise. With three levels of service and entertainment, you can find a package suitable to your taste and budget, including a first-class dinner and local entertainment. Info: (800) 334-6191 or www.paradisecruises.com. Chai's Island Bistro has quickly become Honolulu's favorite restaurants with live daily entertainment. Locals and kamaina enjoy fine dining with Hawaii's best entertainers. The Makaha Sons on Monday, Melveen Leed on Tuesday, The Brothers Cazimero on Wednesday, Hapa on Thursday, Azure McCall and Hapa on Friday, Glenn Medeiros and Anne McCall on Saturday and Jerry Santos on Sunday. Free valet parking. Info: (808) 585-0011. BISHOP MUSEUM OFFERS TWO CULTURAL
PROGRAMS Ho'ike'ike Cultural Program: Features a guided gallery tour: lei making; hula and ukulele lessons and lunch. The tour runs Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The price is $49.50 for adults and $35 for children ages 12 and younger. With transportation from Waikiki, the price of the tour is $65 for adults and $55 for kids. Reservations are required. Behind the Scenes Tour: Enables visitors to view artifacts restricted from normal public viewing. The tour's current focus is on stories, history and artifacts of the Hawaiian monarchy period with a concentration on King David Kalakaua, who lived from 1836 to 1891. The tour, which costs $15 per person in addition to the $14.95 museum admission fee, runs from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and is limited to 10 people. Reservations are not required for the tour, but children under age 12 are not admitted. Children are allowed to see the storytelling, however. HONOLULU ACADEMY OF ARTS $17M
ADDITION DEBUTS WAIKIKI OUTRIGGER'S 'ALOHA FRIDAY' Aloha Friday Program: Outrigger Reef on the Beach, the hotel near Fort Derussy at the western end of Waikiki has started a weekly 'Aloha Friday' program featuring FREE entertainment ALL DAY. The festivities are available to hotel guests as well as anyone who wants to join in the fun, kicking off at 8 a.m. when housekeepers at the hotel transform themselves into a choral group called Na Leo o Kalia and perform in the main lobby. From 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., lei-making classes are on the schedule and from 11 a.m. to noon, there is a ukulele lesson available. Between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., hula groups made up of kapuna, or elders, perform to ukulele and guitar music. The kapuna also stroll the hotel lobby mingling with guests and regaling them with stories about Hawaii and Waikiki. Later in the day, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., there are hula lessons. The Outrigger Reef on the Beach also has nightly Hawaiian entertainment in the Aloha Lounge and strolling musicians that play at the resort's two beachfront restaurants, the Shore Bird Beach Broiler and Ivy's Restaurant. What's Up in Waikiki A
NEW WAIKIKI BANDSTAND The structure has a more inviting design, which Honolulu's Office of Waikiki Development calls an "appropriate showcase for entertainment". UPGRADES
TO THE HONOLULU ZOO Improvements are being made to increase interaction and make the zoo more attractive. On tap are a March completion of renovated space for nenes and warthogs, a summer debut of a playground area with zoo-themed graphics and a new lorikeet aviary populated with 40 to 50 of the birds from Australia set to open early in 2004. An educational complex for animal encounters will go out to bid this fall. NEW
STREETLAMPS The old brown streetlamps are being replaced by Victorian-style lamps in green, adorned with flower baskets. RESTORING
THE FACADE OF THE WAR MEMORIAL Although there is debate in island circles about whether the saltwater pool should be restored or the area modified for another use, they're committed to having the remainder restored. EXTENSIVE
REDESIGN OF THE KUHIO BEACH AREA OF WAIKIKI The work includes placing a series of ponds and creating a hula mound to be the home of free performances for visitors and residents. Sunset performances, all strictly Hawaiian, rotate among all the hula Halau (schools) on Oahu. Torchlighting and performances are presented Thursdays through Sundays. RECONSTRUCTION
OF THE KAPAHULU PIER A water-absorbing stone was selected for its durability, beauty, and safety. STREAMLINED
BEACH STRUCTURES TO REDUCE CLUTTER Concessionaires store equipment in structures that are functional by day and provide storage at night. NEW
LIFEGUARD STANDS BRUNCH
ON THE BEACH PROGRAM The city-created program is staged the third Sunday of the month at Kapiolani Park because of cost; the city hopes to be able to return it to the beach. BACK TO 'WHAT'S UP IN WAIKIKI' For specific information about events and activities in Honolulu and throughout the Islands, click on Hawaii Calendar 2004. For information about local restaurants to visit while in Honolulu, click on OAHU RESTAURANTS |
Take a WALKING TOUR OF
CHINATOWN. Whether you go 'on your own' or take a guided tour, there's a mix of
interesting Asian religious temples, inexpensive and tasty food, bargain flower lei
vendors and a lot of colorful people. The Hawaii Heritage Center offers tours
on Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. that depart from the Ramsay Galleries at 1128
Smith St. (808) 521-2749. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce also operates a Chinatown tour on Tuesdays
starting at 9:30 a.m. from its office at 42 N. King St. (808) 533-3181.
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