Find Your Aloha at These Hawaiian Festivals

Summer is here, which might just have you dreaming about a vacation to the Hawaiian Islands. And while there is always plenty to see and do in Hawaii, the best time to visit might be when Hawaii lays out the red carpet during one of its big, bold, beautiful cultural festivals. Can't visit in summer? Worry not. From hula to rodeos to coffee, Hawaii's distinctive culture is celebrated all year long.

Sponsored by the Handcrafters & Artisans Alliance and taking place every January, the annual Pacific Island Arts Festival features more than 75 Hawaiian artists and handicraft artisans, some of whom teach guests to make their own take-home creations.

Hawaii's blend of fusion cultures makes it a great place to celebrate international holidays like Chinese (Lunar) New Year. Numerous celebrations take place throughout the islands, including one at the Mun Fa Cultural Plaza in Honolulu on Oahu and another at Kalakaua Park in downtown Hilo on Kauai. Both feature plenty of entertainment, food booths and, of course, lion dances.

Organized by the Pacific Whale Foundation, the annual Maui Whale Festival takes place during Maui's peak humpback whale season. Plenty of events can be found on the roster, including a Run & Walk for the Whales, cruises, the World Whale Film Festival and Ma'alaea Harbor Party.

Hawaii's premier cultural event, the Honolulu Festival promotes understanding, economic cooperation, and ethnic harmony between the people of Hawaii and the Pacific Rim region. Events featuring the cultures of Hawaii, Australia, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Republic of China (Taiwan), Tahiti and others are held at locations throughout Honolulu.

The Merrie Monarch Festival, which unfolds every year during the week after Easter, is a celebration of King David La'amea Kalakaua. King Kalakaua, also known as the "Merrie Monarch" for his flamboyant and fun-loving ways, ruled the Hawaiian Nation from 1874 to 1891. The festival also hosts one of the finest hula competitions in the world.

In Hawaii, May Day is known as Lei Day. On the first of May, people throughout the islands wear flowered leis around their neck. The day also includes lei-making competitions and the crowning of a Lei Day queen.

While Memorial Day is largely reserved for honoring and remembering those that have served our country, in Hawaii, Memorial Day is a time to celebrate all loved ones that have come an gone. During the Lantern Floating Festival, more than 6,000 lanterns are distributed to the general public, who then light candles inside the lanterns and then float them in the waters off Ala Moana Beach on Oahu. The sailing lanterns make for a beautiful spectacle that is both contemplative and celebratory.

Every June 11, Hawaiians gather to honor King Kamehameha, who united the Hawaiian islands in 1795. Although it is celebrated with events throughout the islands, Kamehameha Day is at its best in North Kohala on Hawaii Island (the Big Island,) where Kamehameha I was born. The small town puts on a big festival, complete with a parade, live music, hula dancers, local artisans and lots of local food.

Held every June, the Maui Film Festival celebrates original cinema, with a particular emphasis on films that feature Hawaiian themes or local filmmakers. The outdoor under-the-stars Celestial Cinema is the only one of its kind in Hawaii, and there's also an oceanside silent film venue. Festival events include screenings, panels and distinctive food and wine events.

The Molokai Ka Hula Piko celebrates hula in the place of its birth, while also chronicling and preserving the stories of pre-Western Molokai. Events include visits to sacred sites, cultural demonstrations, traditional performances, guest panels and lots of locally made food.

One of Hawaii's largest cultural events, the Pan-Pacific Festival, held in Honolulu, was designed to promote inter-cultural friendship. Featuring an eclectic assortment of cultural events, live performances and arts and crafts vendors, the event draws exhibitors and spectators from around the world.

Now in its 63^rd year, the Makawao Rodeo on Maui is the largest rodeo of the year in Hawaii. Unfolding every year on July 4^th, the event attracts more than 350 cowboys from around the world.

Held on Kauai's south shore every year in July, Koloa Plantation Days is a celebration of the many ethnic groups that came to work on Hawaii's sugar plantations, and of the Hawaiians who welcomed them. The ten-day festival celebrates the music, dance, costumes and food of the many people who now make Hawaii their home. Enjoy a rodeo, live music events and cultural performances, a historic exhibit and film night, craft fairs, culinary demonstrations and tasting events, Polynesian revue, and a historic parade and park celebration.

Now in its 41st year, the Prince Lot Hula Festival takes place at the Iolani Palace every third weekend in July. The festival, the largest non-competitive hula event in Hawaii, honors Prince Lot Kapuaiwa, who as Kamehameha V from 1863 to 1872 and who helped revive hula. During the weekend, hula groups perform both ancient and contemporary hula dances.

The annual Ukulele Festival, held every July in Waikiki's Kapiolani Park Bandstand, has become a summer tradition in Hawaii. The largest festival of its kind in the world, the event draws thousands of performers from around the world. The highlight is a ukulele orchestra of more than 800 students, most of them children.

The month-long Aloha Festivals, Hawaii's premier cultural showcase, preserves the island's unique traditions through performances and educational programs. This is Hawaii's largest festival as well as the only statewide multicultural celebration in the United States.

Hawaii's top culinary event, the seven-day Hawaii Food & Wine Festival features more than 150 local, domestic and international master chefs, culinary personalities, winemakers and mixologists. Co-founded by two James Beard Award-winning Hawaiian chefs, Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong, the festival takes place over a two-week period on Hawaii Island, Maui and Oahu.

The sister festival of Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) & Shanghai Media and Entertainment Group (SMEG), the Hawaii International Film Festival brings more than 70,000 cinema enthusiasts from around the world into Honolulu every year. The festival is unique in that it showcases features, documentaries and short films from Asia made by Asian filmmakers; films about the Pacific made by Pacific Islanders, and films made by Hawaii filmmakers that present Hawaii in a culturally accurate way.

When the first coffee was planted in Kona in the early 1800s, no one knew that it would become the mainstay of the island's economy. But Kona, with its rich volcanic soil, perfect climate and hard-working family farmers, was the ideal location to grow the arabica bean. Today many Kona farmers still lay claim to being fifth generation coffee farmers. Today, the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, the only coffee festival in the United States, celebrates Kona's heritage and the mighty coffee bean through a series of more than 30 community events, held over a 10-day period.

First created as a tree-light ceremony and a holiday concert, Honolulu City Lights has grown into a much-anticipated "corridor of lights" with lit up displays celebrating the holiday season and Hawaiian culture. The month-long celebration kicks off on December 1 at Honolulu Hale (City Hall) and includes a 50-foot Christmas tree, Santa's gingerbread house and a holiday concert. Don't miss the Electric Light Parade, co-sponsored by Hawaiian Electric Company, which features lit up city utility vehicles.