There needed to be better quality lights along the pathways, the bags used for the bag lights were…read moretoo thick that it did not allow the candle light to come through enough. Again, there were too many people allowed in at the same time. There were many extra large strollers and wagons around. There needed to be more volunteers- about 3 parents were frantically looking for their children. The light displays like the tunnel, mushrooms, flowers, and trees were beautiful. It was a hot night and the huge crowds added to the heat. Good variety of food trucks and drink vendors.

What an amazing fun night for everyone, especially families! W told me he was working at the event…read moreand couldn't meet up so why not go check out something I've never experienced! Daytime, there's a number of activities for everyone to do, but at night, the whole garden lights up and it's magical! Definitely worth checking out and it helps the park. You can bring in your own food or purchase from trucks. Also, lots of families bringing chairs and blankets. Parking will be a challenge. There was an elementary school that had free parking. I parked at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza garage on Maunakea, lots of people did. What a great event! Mahalo Foster!

What a great opportunity to see several Ghibli movies at the Historic Hawaii Theater. Guessing…read morethat most people attending have already seen the movies at least on DVD, but to see it on the movie screen is a great treat that cannot be missed. The real question for many is which movie to see (if not all, right?)- in our case we decided to see "Spirited Away". This has always been a personal favorite and we were lucky to have seen it when it first came to the big screen in 2002. They also have special items for sale on the second floor connected with the Miyazaki movies. Many talented artists have their wares displayed for purchase (Support local!) and as a bonus- they have a free photo booth that takes three pics and includes a Film festival header pic. Nice memento of the festival. Side note: We have been to Hawaii Theater on many occasions but for live performances. Back in the day, before it was saved from being demolished I would go to see Saturday morning kids movies and monster/ Science fiction movies in middle school. The theater is great, restored to it's former glory. The sound system is great, the ushers, concessionaires, and everyone connected with the program is top notch and mostly volunteers. This is a well run operation and is a great venue to enjoy live performances and film presentations. The Miyazaki Ghibli Festival presented by the Hawaii Theater Center is indeed special and very enjoyable. There is one more movie offering on Sunday, 7/10. Check it out if you can. Mahalos to Yelp and the Hawaii Theater Center for the comp. tickets. A great movie opportunity that we really enjoyed.

Here with Nicole S. on the last day of Miyazaki film festival! Totoro, dubbed in English subtitles,…read morethis is such a great end to the series this week. Shout out to Art + Flea for putting this event on with with the help of Hawaii Theater! Some food vendors outside, with a semi-long line for tickets at the box office. I really liked being able to pickup tickets at Will Call! Thanks Yelp!! I really liked seeing so many kids and families here to spend sometime together and watch this timeless classic.

I've been going to the Punahou Carnival at Punahou School for years as it was a mere 7 minute…read morewalking distance from where I once lived. But for this year, it was a different experience, not just travel wise but overall. As expected, parking can be difficult to find for this weekend event. You can either pray to the street parking gods to have a spot available nearby the campus or pay at nearby locations like Central Union Church or neighboring school and churches ranging from $10.00 to up to $30.00. Food items and games (except for the E.K. Fernandez games) can be purchased through scrip. There are many scrip booths available on campus for you to purchase scrip from. Most of the crowd tends to go to the scrip booth at the entrance of the school, but I found it more convenient to go to the other areas like by the white elephant tent or kiddie land as the lines are much much shorter. One key thing to remember is that the booths only accept credit/debit, Apple Pay or Google Pay to purchase scrip. No cash will be accepted. One scrip is 50 cents, a whole sheet of scrip is $10. It does tend to get busy during this event and it is highly expected that you will be waiting in line for the food. Unfortunately this year, the food was just...meh. The regular gyro that costs about 15 scrip had an equal amount of protein and onion (if you know me well enough, I'm not a fan of raw yellow onions). The noodles (that I always look forward to) that costs about 10 scrip with char siu, was bland and didn't have that many char siu pieces. The teri burger (9 scrip, 10 with cheese) was nostalgic but also meh. But the most upsetting food we had this time around was their famous (turned infamous for us) Portuguese bean soup (32 oz. is 18 scrip, limit 2 per person). When we got home and were ready to partake in that so-called hearty, comforting bowl of soup, we were faced disappointment with more broth than the actual ingredients. It was so watery that I was only able to identify only 4.5 pieces of elbow macaroni in that 32 oz! My friend's soup however had a lot of ingredients (she went earlier in the day instead). To make things worse, they moved the soup station further away from everything else, meaning extra walking (without any markings or signages) to just be let down. Although this year's experience wasn't the greatest, it's still the Punahou Carnival, with its usual crowds, usual announcements over the PA, and its nostalgic charm. Hopefully, they'll improve the food quality (the best ones we had from this experience were the malasadas and corn on the cob) and include some signages or arrows to point us of where to go for the hot items instead of letting us go on a hiking adventure up, down, left, and right through the campus.

The iconic Punahou Carnival is like any other popular place so expect crowds, looking for parking,…read morelines, but it's a priceless experience with the right mindset. It's always held the FIRST WEEKEND in February. First, the parking. Only volunteers receive on-campus parking. The public can find free parking on adjacent streets like Dole, Clark, Whitney, Wilder or opt for paying flat rate at Maryknoll School which is a short walk across the street, St. Clements Church about a block west, Shriners Hospital is 2 blocks makai, Central Union Church 2 blocks makai, and St Peter's is 3 blocks makai. Traffic can be crazy around these areas with a lot of pedestrians so extra caution. If I didn't live within walking distance I'd probably Uber over to save time. I give the carnival 4 stars - until the scrips can be purchased online or a QR code. Waiting in line to purchase scrips can be difficult when you're bringing young children. That being said, we purchase more scrip for both days so we don't have to wait in line again. It's fifty cents per scrip or $10 for entire sheet. Credit cards only- no cash accepted. When you enter through main gate there's a scrip booth to the right but also more on the diamond head side which usually isn't as busy. This year there was also one near Bishop Hall (mauka) where more of the keiki games were. I highly recommend the carnival website which gives great info to plan your day. A map shows food, games, bathrooms, scrip booths, art gallery, logo shop, white elephant, plants, fruits/vegs was awesome for us to plan our attack. A list of Punahou games (EK Fernandez is separate) and food booths with amount of scrip needed helped us figure out how much scrip to purchase for both days. It also says which places take scrip or credit cards. The food is basic carnival - which to me always tastes good because of the great memories growing up. Teri burgers, saimin, wok-prepared char siu noodles, malasadas, Portuguese bean soup, Hawaiian plate with kalua pig, rice, poi, lomi salmon, sweet potato, pineapple, hot dogs, spam musubi, corn on cob, taco salad, nachos, mini Haagen Daz ice cream cups, gyros, smoothies, soda, bottled water are all reasonably priced. This is a FUNDRAISER to give financial aid to more students- which are about 30% of the classes. Bathrooms are scattered throughout the carnival and pretty clean. Also have accessible portapotties placed far enough away from activities with portable sinks and soap. Police officers posted at each scrip booth and also entrances/exits, as well as security. The first day on Friday is busy because Punahou and Maryknoll allow students early access. Evenings after-work/school crowd gets busy so if you have small kids it could be a little overwhelming plus walking to your car in dark perhaps bring flashlight as sidewalks are narrow with cracked asphalt, and alerts cars who may be distracted or in a rush to get outta there. Saturday is the busiest since most people have the day off. Not sure why but this year didn't seem as busy- lots of room to walk around and the weather was perfect. It ended earlier at 10:00 PM instead of 11:00. EK Fernandez has their own area for games and rides. You can either purchase at their booth or download QR code and pay for games and rides with your phone. The prizes are nice- really huge stuffed animals and inflatables. Punahou games do not give out prizes at their booths. If you win or as a consolation prize they give out coupons which can be redeemed at the Prize Tent located up top by Bishop Hall (Diamond Head / mauka of White Elephant tent). This was nice because we didn't have to carry it around with us and could redeem upon leaving. The Haku Booth had a sign saying pre-ordered only so check Carnival website for details. They are beautifully made by the students. The Portuguese bean soup and Hawaiian plates are located mauka in the cafeteria. Be prepared to wait in line but it goes quickly as there's a limit of 2. You may sit in the cafeteria to eat or there are groups of tables just outside. They sell small cooler bags if you plan on taking home or we brought our own. There is also a schedule of live music to enjoy. There was NO CHICKEN PLATE this year so we missed that rotisserie chicken cooked at the carnival on campus. The art gallery had moved to Bishop Learning Center because the library was being renovated so we enjoyed checking out the beautiful artwork and paintings for sale which were mostly local artists. In our experience it's always been a very safe and clean carnival- we took our 2 year old granddaughter this year and she loved all the games and a couple of rides like the "hot air balloon" and carousel. Lots of sunscreen, water, and people-watching made it all the more enjoyable.

Honolulu African-American Film Festival #HOMA February 15 -…read moreMarch 1, 2026 Honolulu Museum of Art #The Inquisitor Attended the Friday evening showing of an absolutely dynamic documentary about a woman who became the first African American senator in in Texas' Senate since the end of Reconstruction in 1883. In 1972 she became the first Southern Black woman to join Congress. Her strength were her words, and she knew the Constitution inside and out. To quote Beth Accomando's review about Jordan's speech during the Nixon impeachment, she quoted: "My faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total. And I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution." We really need our present members of Congress to speak so passionately and forcefully to show their respect for the Constitution.

Honolulu African-American Film Festival #HOMA February 15 -…read moreMarch Honolulu Museum of Art On the first day of the festival, they honored The famous black Author,"Toni Morrison" a Noble prize winner. The evening started with live music, soul food, A few readings from Toni Morrison books/speeches. And then we watch the Toni Morrison documentary movie. The Documentary was beautifully put together, honoring this beautiful black women and mother who was an important black writer. She wrote to us in for us, including Our love, our history, our pain or sorrow in all of her books. And it made me want to read her books again. #Honorningblackauthors #Honoringblackwomen #blackwomen #blackisBeautiful #ToniMorrison #Honolulumuseum #Honolulu #hawaii #blackamerican #blackhistory #blackAuthor#filmfestival #blackwriter #Editor#africanamericanfilmfestivalHonolulu #blackhawaii #blacksinhawaii #blackfilms #blackhistorymonth #blacksisters #oahu #oahuhawaii #oahulife #istandwithblackwomen #blacksunite #blackoahu #africanamericansinhawaii #blackhistory #blackhistorymonth #blackhistorymonthhonoulu

Celebrating the culture…read more.. No one does it like the Okinawan Festival as this year they've done it again and what an amazing event. Keeping at the Hawaii Convention Center is a real struggle to get to though the cool air conditioned venue with lots of seating provided to watch the entertainment and to enjoy your foodie feast does make it a fun and festive place to celebrate it all. In the past it has been outdoors at Kapiolani Park which in my opinion was much more difficult to enjoy it all so this is a refreshing chance of scenery and this year it's all in one level so you don't need to find the various rooms upstairs to shop for the merchandise and view the historic background of it all. The countless volunteers and groups made it a fun for all ages as we actually wanted to play some of the children's games shows how fun it truly was. I did get to peek in the Awamori Garden which was lovely oasis to get an adult sip along with some exclusive snacks found only in that area though with countless areas to browse including the craft section it was a great experience and can't wait for 2025. Thank you!

I purchased a one day entrance ticket online and it was easy getting scanned and in. Parked at Ala…read moreMoana and paid what I feel was exorbitant prices for parking ($16.75 for 3 hours-I miss the days of free parking). The layout is well organized but I wish the signs were bigger. Got my haul from Hapa House, Sumofish, and my andagi and okidogs. No bon dance this year, but still a fun outing!

We took our school age children to the Imaginarium and it was amazing. From the discovery center to…read morewatching the show. I highly recommend other school age programs to utilize this program. It was very hands on and informative for a great price.

My keiki enjoy coming here to learn about the current stars seen in the particular month. The…read moreauditorium is spacious and always has enough seats so people can spread out. We will be looking to do more of the other shows offered here as well.

4/6/2018 HiFF: "Jimami Tofu"…read more Just to clarify: that next time you hear "foodie" make sure to remember this film: "Jimami Tofu" I will no longer associate anything else in my head on the idea of food films till I see one better than this in "food" concept films. There have been a few but this one has connections to humanism and coming of age. Or the concepts of life! No Awesome romances/ no direct humor. And even as good as "Tampopo" was for me, compared to this film It's missing the hint of "secret sauce" that should be the love that comes from the chef and his connection to that food. "Jimami Tofu" has that. It's that extra intuition, the "ahha moment" in culinary when you know- adding or Leaving out something is best. If you want that divine intervention of "Love" unabandon, the chance to break free from authority to give your self the chance to see it through without boundaries. This film speaks it endlessly. As individuals we can forgot our beginning roots and have formulated walls and specific speculative thoughts / perspectives. Your Food in up bringing grounds you. It beckons the extra memory of what we loved, how we loved and who we were loved by and vise versa. "Jimami Tofu" has resolved that somewhat critical thought: critics are hated for being like this--- and shows us the audience what's important to our lives and what passions get contented through with food! HiFF has chosen great films Like these and I found the ratio of English to Japanese a real fresh treat through out. I'd love to see this film Again! Thank you HiFF for letting us "Foodie yelper Elites" come and experience such impeccable storyline as "Jimami Tofu"

I was so excited to watch kunfu panda 4. we placed are food down cause the seats move. I was going…read moreto eat more I turn on my flash light and see a cockroach crawling into my food don't go to section 8 waste of money, food, and time never again.

Held on the first Saturday of March this year, the event blocked out the entire main street of…read moreWaikiki. I came at night for the cooler weather. Tons of food vendors, crafts, goods that were sold. The variety of food was extensive with long lines at most. Fun, vibrant energy at this event.

Another great street festival on the main drag of Waikiki. Lots of food and cool giftsread more