With its retro neon sign, pink-and-white-striped awning, blue script logo, and the usual line outside, Leonard’s Bakery has become a can’t miss destination for foodies on Oʻahu. The bakery, a family business that’s been famously featured in guidebooks, food blogs, Instagram roundups and more, is dedicated to keeping a local tradition alive. Since opening in […]
According to Chinese zodiac, Feb. 17, 2026, marks the start of the Year of the Fire Horse. Locals and visitors are invited to celebrate Lunar New Year and welcome in good fortune at Chinatown 808’s 50th Chinatown Festival and Parade on Saturday, Feb. 14. The all-day event runs from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. In partnership with American Savings Bank (ASB), Chinatown
Hula, surfing, Kona coffee and Spam musubi are all at home in Hawai‘i. But did you know we have the only commercial vanilla farms in the U.S., or that cowboys roamed the Islands before the Wild West? Here are five things that are distinctive to Hawai‘i that you may not have known about. (We didn’t, either!) Rock-Walled Fishponds According to Hawaiian moʻolelo
Eight contenders will compete in the inaugural Ka Makou Kōnane Invitational Tournament at Bishop Museum on Oʻahu—the first of its kind in modern Hawaiʻi. Kōnane is a traditional Hawaiian board game, similar to checkers, that requires strategic and analytical skill. Two competitors from qualifying events on Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island will convene in the championship tournament, the
Most locals know the concept of the ahupuaʻa, a land management system that extends from mauka (mountains) to makai (ocean). About a decade ago, the Koʻolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club installed signs marking the ahupuaʻa in the Koʻolaupoko district on Oʻahu—roughly Waimānalo to Kahuku. That inspired an islandwide program—a partnership between community organizations and the state—to identify the physical boundaries of
*This story was originally published on Dec. 31, 2019. People worldwide are welcoming the new year with spectacular firework shows and glasses of Champagne. In Hawaiʻi, we celebrate with popping firecrackers (to ward off evil spirits), eating noodles (which symbolize longevity), cleaning our homes (so you don’t carry your old life into the new year)
*This story was originally published on Dec. 21, 2017. Much like Thanksgiving, Hawaiʻi does Christmas with its own twist. Sunshine and tropical weather lets the Aloha State’s residents don board shorts and bikinis for their post-Christmas morning surf, while uncles dressing up as Santa are throwing up shakas with the keiki on their lap. Here are
ʻIolani Palace invites guests to walk its halls during its Queen Kapiʻolani Evening Tours in late December. The experience celebrates the queen’s birthday, with tours available only on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28. Tickets are available now. “In the evening light, you feel the presence of our aliʻi in these halls,” said Paula Akana, president
Following the pandemic and the devastating fires of 2023, Maui’s businesses and residents have shown remarkable strength and perseverance. In the face of unimaginable challenges, local communities have proven invaluable coming together to heal and rebuild the island. For years, the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce has played a pivotal role in connecting Native
*This story was originally published on Sept. 12, 2017. The 2025 Nā Wāhine o Ke Kai will be held on Sunday, Sept. 28. For more information, visit nawahineokekai.com. Considered the pinnacle of long-distance Hawaiian outrigger canoe racing, the Kaiwi Channel is a grueling 41-mile stretch of open ocean separating the Hawaiian Islands of Molokaʻi
*This story was originally published on March 6, 2019 and updated on Aug. 20. On a Sunday at sunrise, the South Kona sky painted in pastels, I drive bleary-eyed on Māmalahoa Highway heading south past monstera and banana plants toward the hulking mass of Mauna Loa, rising nearly 1,500 feet into the sky. Two
This story was originally published on Sept. 26, 2017. Beginning in the 1850s, as the sugar industry grew and plantations began to multiply throughout Hawaiʻi, plantation owners—many tracing their ancestry to English and American missionary families—began importing contracted laborers from outside the Islands to supplement Hawaiian laborers. By the early 20th century, thousands of
