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| The 32nd Annual Pan-Pacific Festival celebtrates Pan-Pacific culture and heritage. // (c) 2011 Pan-Pacific Festival |
Visitors to Waikiki this weekend can attend two notable parades and festivals in the city, and learn about Hawaiian culture and heritage.
95th Annual King Kamehameha Day Parade
The 95th Annual King Kamehameha Day Parade is longest parade in Hawaii. The parade begins at King & Richards Streets at 9 am on Saturday, June 11, and ends at Kapi‘olani Park via Punchbowl, Ala Moana and Kalākaua Avenue. The theme of this year's parade is "Wahine Holo Lio," honoring the tradition of pa'u riding.
Immediately following the parade will be the King Kamehameha Day Festival at Kapi‘olani Park featuring live entertainment, food booths, cultural demonstrations and educational exhibits.
The 32nd Annual Pan-Pacific Festival
The 32nd Annual Pan-Pacific Festival begins Friday, June 10, and runs through Sunday June 12. In support of victims of Northern Japan’s earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters, the theme of this year’s festival is “Arigato Hawaii.”
The three-day festival begins on Friday with a Waikiki Ho‘olaule‘a, a street festival featuring many of Hawaii’s top entertainers, artisans and craftspeople, and top food vendors. Nine stages will feature a number of hula hālau from Hawaii and Japan, taiko drummers, and multi-cultural exhibits.
The 11th annual Pan-Pacific Hula Festival takes place at Kuhio Beach on Friday, and will see performances by hula enthusiasts from Japan and a demonstration from Hawaii’s own Halau O Napuala ‘Ikauika ‘Iu. The hula festival continues Saturday with more hula performances and a torch-lighting ceremony sponsored by the Waikīkī Improvement Association.
Also on Saturday, the Pan-Pacific Festival will feature a performance showcase at Ala Moana Center Stage with Japan’s Omatsuri Hiroba, and at the Royal Grove at Royal Hawaiian Center, featuring Waikiki Deai No Hiroba.
The 2011 Pan-Pacific Festival culminates on Sunday, June 12, with the Pan-Pacific Parade down Kalākaua Avenue in the heart of Waikīkī. The parade will feature many colorful parade floats and modern and traditional dance groups from Hawai‘i and Japan..
For more information, visit www.pan-pacific-festival.com.