September and October are two rather specials months around our 50th state. The famous year-round balmy weather usually is at its best. The summer visitors have left. Yet the passion for traditional music, song, dance and general merriment seemingly intrinsic to every Hawaiian shines brighter than ever. Welcome to Aloha Festivals, a feast made up of some 300 events on six of Hawaii's major islands that is in its 54th year.
In 1991 America's only statewide celebration shed the original "week" in its name for the more accurate "festivals" - but its purpose remains unchanged: to honor the state's singular cosmopolitan heritage, a rich palette of South Pacific, Asian and Western cultural elements, with a series of parades, shows featuring traditional songs and dances, and other activities.
Aloha Festivals has become the state's largest celebration. Perhaps more significantly, though, it's a celebration of, by and for the predominantly friendly people of Hawaii.
Created in 1946 by a group of former Jaycees - known as the JC Oldtimers of Hawai'i - it took a year to plan. The then-small Aloha Week celebration was held in the fall to honor the makahiki - the old historic Hawaiian period when warfare among the regional chieftains was put aside and the relatively brief span of time devoted to culinary feats enhanced by traditional mele, or song; hula, or dance; and other cultural expressions. No doubt, those Jaycees little knew that over the next decades it would become one of the Aloha State's most treasured traditions.
Probably the event best-known throughout the United States and beyond is the Floral Parade on Oahu that always packs a happy crowd all the way from glittering downtown Honolulu to bustling Waikiki Beach and the Band Shell below landmark Diamond Head. Televised nationally, it usually attracts around 40 million viewers.
Personally, as one who has visited Hawaii several times a year over more than three decades, I am always impressed by one glorious spectacle among the numerous eye-popping events attending the glittering events on Oahu. And that's the regal appearance of the Royal Court - close to the state capitol in downtown Honolulu - on the steps of the magnificently restored Iolani Palace, once the residence of North America's only true monarchy.
Though subject to change, this year's schedule for the festivals is as follows:OAHU
This amazing mix of incredibly diverse sensory and visual treats - resident, colleague and personal friend Robert W. Bone has written many articles and books about what he calls, aptly, the Capital Island - kicks off this year's nine-day festivities Sept. 15.
Don't forget that barely a hour from Waikiki, tiny Haleiwa is home to a small place (no, you'll have to get the name from a local as I don't want a tour bus to spoil it on my next visit) that serves what many of us globe-trotters rank as America's finest burgers and fries. And if qualified to tackle them, don't miss the spectacular surfing waves at nearby Sunset Beach and, on the way back to so-called civilization, Chinaman's Hat, among others.HAWAII
The Big Island we all know because of its fiery and very alive volcanoes, the magnificent orchids at nearby Hilo, its two snow-capped peaks, and such princely and patrician digs at the unmatched Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. This self-contained resort boasts the best of the few really stunning beaches on the isle, plus accommodations, service and food that royalty past and present would find to its liking.
Here, such Aloha Festivals' activities, set for Sept. 22 to Oct. 1, include the Kindy Sproat Falsetto and Storytelling Contest, the Ms. Big island competition, and the Sam Choy Poke Contest have become favorites with locals and visitors alike. Along with that heavenly Kona coffee.MOLOKAI
This uncrowded little gem known as "The Friendly Island" will again feature a parade and its famed Mule Run, a thrilling 26-switchback trail Sept. 24 to Oct. 8. Once the spot to which leprosy victims from others isles were banished with no shelter and only the few provisions that a saintly Roman Catholic priest from Belgium, Father Damien de Veuster, could scrounge, Molokai, as most other islands on the chain, has gone through rather amazing shifts. For a spell, pineapple growing, of course, was a boon. In recent times, though, farms concentrating on the miniature vegetables, relished by the world's finest resorts, cruise lines and airlines, loom as this idyllic spot's main economic pinion.LANAI
Not long ago, I spent a blissful week on "The Pineapple Island" staying in the 10-room Lanai Hotel. There I met such hospitable Hawaiians and learned the hard way how to steer my rented four-wheel-drive vehicle to the lovely shoreline beyond the isle's then only 20 miles of paved roads! Needless to say, I loved the experience. Once fully owned by the Dole Co., Molokai now has new owners and not one but two very upscale resorts. One in the grandiosely named Lanai City, which would qualify for a hamlet in Middle America, and the other an equally opulent spread by the sea.
Festivals' activities here Oct. 6 to 15 center on Aloha Beach Day and Aloha Street Dance.KAUAI
The "Garden Island" - my favorite of all due to its stunning scenery and diversity - also pulls out all stops during its Festivals' nine days, Oct. 13 to 22, with a variety of fascinating events that geographically span from the famous resorts around Poipu on the southern shores to spectacular Princeville on the north that serves as the gateway to the magnificent Na Pali Coast - where "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "South Pacific" and a host of other memorable Hollywood hits were filmed.MAUI
So popular it has direct flights from several mainland America gateway cities and even from Japan, the "Valley Island" is set to toast this year's Aloha Festivals Oct. 20 to 29. There's much I and countless other visitors like about this place. Among them, the quaint and fun bustle of Lahaina, an old whaling hub, and the serene beauty of Hana, the choice resting place of Charles Lindbergh - unmarked but just a couple of miles up from the beautiful and fun Seven Pools of Kipahulu. This splendid isle, a mere 35 or so air minutes from Honolulu, is both a true slice of old Hawaii and a hip vacation heaven with the latest of everything you can think of - and then some. Festivals' events include ethnic food and festivities in Lahaina, under Hawaii's largest banyan tree, and a host of activities in usually quiet Hana.
(For additional details, contact The Aloha Festivals, P.O. Box 15945, Honolulu, HI 96830-5945; (800) 852-7690.)
Philip Sousa is a free-lance travel writer.
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