There are plenty of events coming up on Kauai this spring and summer. Here are just a few for your clients to try.
Kauai Polynesian Festival 2011 – May 26-29
The 9th Annual Kauai Polynesian Festival is a cultural celebration of Tahiti, Samoa, New Zealand, and Hawaii, featuring folklore, language, dance, music, and crafts. Enjoy a Polynesian pageant, various competitions (e.g., poi ball, hula, Tahitian dance, and fore knife), fashion show, workshops, and craft booths. www.KauaiFestivals.com.
Banana Polka Roundup – May 29
Come to beautiful Kokee State Park to enjoy this outdoor, family-friendly event, with activities that include a forest education fair, live music, exhibitors, basket-making workshops, hikes, and a rooster-crowing contest. Free and open to the public.
2011 King Kamehameha Celebration Parade – June 18
This annual holiday parade goes through through Lihue, featuring marching bands, decorated vehicles and pau horse riders dressed in the tradition of Hawaiian culture. The parade starts at Vidinha Stadium and follows Rice Street to the historic County Building for a hoolaulea (celebration) on the front lawn. Visitors can sample local food while entertainers perform and artisans showcase their crafts.
Third Annual Kauai Kau Wela Festival – July 1
Fans of Polynesian dance will love this festival, as wahine (women) and kane (men) compete in solo, ancient hula, modern hula and solo Tahitian dance at Kukui Grove Shopping Mall from 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Free and open to the public.
Kekaha’s 4th of July Celebration – July 4
Enjoy the Independence Day holiday on Kauai’s westside at the Fourth Annual Kekaha 4th of July Celebration. This daylong festival runs from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and will offer food, games, local crafts, exhibits, and entertainment before topping off the holiday with a fireworks display. Free and open to the public.
Concert in the Sky – July 4
A local-style celebration of July 4th will be held at Lihue’s Vidinha Stadium Soccer Field, 4:00 to 10:00 p.m., featuring food by various Kauai restaurants, music, entertainment, and hula halau. Activities for keiki include face painting, inflatables and games. Presale tickets: $10.
Garden Isle Artisan Fair – July 9
More than 40 of Kauai’s finest artisans will come to Waioli Town Park in Hanalei to showcase an array of handcrafted products, tropical clothing, and accessories from Kauai and Polynesia. The display will include photography, jewelry, aloha wear, wood carvings, pounded mulberry bark, passion fruit jellies, original oil paintings, table linens, and palm bark baskets. Visitors can listen to Hawaiian music, sample local plate lunches and cool down with shaved ice. Admission is free and open to the public
Koloa Plantation Days – July 23-31
This nine-day, family-oriented festival will offer more than 20 events in Koloa and Poipu to celebrate the plantation heritage and modern-day vitality of Kauai’s south shore communities. Attendees learn about the area’s multicultural history, experience a diverse range of local foods, culture and activities and explore the unique ecology and archaeology. Free and open to the public.