2026 Hawaii Rainbow Film Festival. Located in the heart of Honolulu, surrounded by the urban…read morerevival of Chinatown. 2nd floor bar and lounge area allows for drinks and food. Tons of parking in the surrounding public garages.

I was blessed enough to experience various shows at the Hawaii Theatre Center, the most recent…read morebeing a showing of Nosferatu (2024) for Halloween, which was a special experience with some friends who are also into horror flicks. The theater supports both movies as well as live shows, which makes it a unique cultural space. You're not supposed to eat in the theater itself, and if you want to drink you would need to buy a sippy cup-like container from the bar. I suppose it is meant to protect the theater from decay, all these protective measures. The bartender who served us wine was friendly enough. I loved seeing the art around the theater.

What a performance…read more.. Thank you to Terry K for taking me on this journey to something that I've never tried personally is to see a play and Manoa Valley Theatre offers us some amazing performances that I've been lucky to see a play though it's never been at Manoa Valley venue itself and what a difference it is. The vibe here is full of energy as many start arriving and you need to check in and verify your seating which the staff does and also informed us that the air conditioning wasn't fully operational and provided us with a bottle water is a nice gesture though was slightly warm the cool Manoa air kept us decently cool. As we get to chill prior by getting a drink and/or snack is nice and there are great options available including some alcohol. Kim's Convenience is the play and from what we were told is once a series on Netflix which I don't have but I like that I have no idea as I can enjoy the play just as they visualize which was great and fun since it was a comedy, if anything the seating leaves no room for anyone to pass in front of you so I had leave the row and wait in the aisle for others to take their seat but in all comfortable and easy to view the play without being blocked from the previous row. Bravo to this creative and wonderful evening with a great friend as doing something unique like this was so much fun and a memorable experience. Thank you!

The Princess and the Iso Pea was very good. Cast was fantastic. I was pleasantly surprised by the…read morequality of sound, light effects and friendliness of the ushers. Snacks were available for purchase both before the show and during intermission. Cash and card accepted. Parking is available on the street and at Manoa Market place. Manoa Market place was suggested in an email I received from the theater confirming my tickets. Everything was well organized. Warnings: The theater has seen better days and is very dusty. It's an allergy nightmare and if you have a dust allergy request seating away from the walls. Seating is old and uncomfortable. Be prepared if you have back issues, it's an older theater. There is only one women's restroom with 4 stalls. My entire intermission was spent in the line.

The last time I was at this Greek Festival was back in 2007, before I moved to the Mainland…read more I love it! This place so reminded me of how Yiayia taught me how to make Greek food. We had such an awesome time! I sure do miss it, and boy have they really improved over the years!!!

My first Greek Festival here in Hawaii. While the overall…read moresetup was good, the food did not live up to expectations, especially for the price! I had tickets given to me by a friend so entree was free and I took along a Japanese Student. Having been to Greece twice probably set high expectations for this event and it was kind of a let down. I enjoyed the Greek beer and Ouzo booth and the outstanding artist on guitar and singing the most. Regret not buying a CD for $10.00 to enjoy at home. I arrived around 4 pm and missed the band & dancing outside by the fountain area, that may have also lead to my mood and this review. I would have loved a gyro or one of the grilled kabobs that smelled wonderful, but the line was to long and way to far from the beer booth! Lol! It looked as if most of those in attendance were enjoying the cool ocean breezes that made this a perfect day for the event. Maybe I should have stayed longer and had a few more shots of Ouzo! It was fun but for the money, I'll go to the Olive Tree and enjoy a much better meal in honor of Greek heritage! OPAH!

Great event to grab dinner so dont have to cook on a Saturday night. One of the smaller Festivals I…read morebeen to. Lots of food choices with 98% being food vendors. There was also a tent selling cute rice spoons a great gift and another tent selling tshirts. I liked that most food vendors had sample plates displayed made it quick and easy to order and helped shortened the lines. Entry is free it's on the road at ward so its closed off to thru traffic. Lots of parking all over. I parked at Whole Foods bcuz I planned to go shopping after I ate and browsed the event. Was supposed to meet up a with friends there but got held up at work so I just grabbed some food, ate and left. They do have tables to stand and eat at but it felt like they should have had a few more. The website showed a list of all their vendors.

Date: September 5, 2015 Where: Office Depot parking lot on…read moreKamakee Street Reason to go: Eats from Nani Kore Hawaii and music by Vaihi The 6th Annual Hawaii Rice Festival was held at the Office Depot parking lot on Kamakee Street. The event started at 10am and finished at 5pm. Donation of bags of rice to Lanakila Meals on Wheels. Live entertainment, ukulele contest, poke bowl eating contest, and spam musubi eating contest. I arrived after 2:30pm thinking that I missed out listening to Vaihi perform since they were scheduled at 2pm. The first booth I checked into was the Yelp booth @ Rice Fest. Good luck if you can get the ping pong ball in the red or blue cup to win a prize. Somehow my throw was too short and didn't even reach the red or blue cups. I did walk away with a small Yelp button pin. The second and last booth I visited was the Nani Kore Hawaii booth. I've been craving the bacon wrapped mochi since the Eat The Streets: USA event. I ordered 2 of the bacon wrapped mochi drizzled with teri sauce as well as their kim chee fried rice to eat. Yummy yummy for my tummy. I made my way to the tent area where there were tables and chairs set up. Sadly most of the chairs under the tent was taken so I ended up using one of the chairs that was exposed under the hot sun. As soon as I sat down I hear the emcee mention Valhi will be performing next. "What?!?! I thought I missed their performance." I see the group getting on stage and setting up their equipment. As soon as Bruddah Sam sat down on his big ball...I made my way to the stage and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and a hug. First thing he asked me "Where's mom?" I told him "Mom is at home and I just came from the Okinawan Festival". I greeted Bruddah Aaron with a kiss on the cheek and a hug as well and told him "I thought I missed your guys performance." When Lina Girl from KCCN heard I said Okinawan Festival she asked me "How was the festival?" I told her "was crowded and very hot." Lina then tells me "your name going be easy for remember cuz it rhymes with Lina" LOL. I told her "I used to watch you and Bruddah Sam on Local Kine Grindz". After I did my greetings I made my way back to my chair and started to grind on the kim chee fried rice and bacon wrapped mochi. Onolicious. What a wonderful way to enjoy a Saturday. Live entertainment from Vaihi. Ono grinds from Nani Kore Hawaii. Plus watching the tail end of the spam musubi eating contest.

What a beautiful local theater! We were in Oahu for Spring Break and traveling with our theater…read moreteen so thought to check the listing and luckily there was a show: West Side Story and it fit into our schedule. Easy parking, clean rest rooms, no frills concession, and cute merch. I got the reusable cup too. People were so nice and friendly. We sat at the very back of the theater and enjoyed it. The actors were so talented and so glad we were able to see it. My teen also got autographs and the actors were so happy and willing to sign her playbill. A couple were surprised that they were being asked for an autograph. When in Hawaii, after enjoying the beach and watching the sunset, why not catch a musical produced well run by the local community and supported and loved by the community.

Les Miserable... spectacular ! Music, singing, dancing, stage....absolutely loved it! It's a must…read moresee

Love this festival! This year it will be in Waikiki at the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School on…read moreKapahulu April 1-2, 9A-4P. Highland games, dancing, music, sword play. Can't wait! Hoping Celtica will be here again!

This was held at McCoy Pavilion at Ala Moana Park in 2014…read more We had an enjoyable Sunday afternoon here at the 2014 Festival. First, you can't beat the price: $1 entry! And free parking. They have a lot going on, but you are on your own to figure out what and when. That is probably my only criticism. They posted nothing online for 2014 (that I could find), so I didn't know what their entertainment lineup was or any other helpful information to plan. We took our chances and arrived around noon on Sunday. They also didn't seem to have any programs or any info onsite - we had to either ask someone or just wander around. That said, we found plenty of interesting things to see and do. One room of the pavilion is dedicated to booths and tables where you can learn more about Scotland, its people, and geography. If you have any Scottish heritage, you can learn a lot about your ancestors. Several clans are represented here, and they can give you loads of information. An inside stage was dedicated to Scottish dancing. We bypassed it to watch the bagpipes and drums on the outdoor stage. Meanwhile, there were vendors selling Celtic jewelry, artisanal preserves, woodcrafts, etc. Food vendors were also scattered around, including bar carts selling Scotch (of course!). By mid-afternoon, a lot of vendors had sold out of their wares. Meanwhile, outside on the lawn, men in kilts were competing in highland games. Caber tosses, throwing of all kinds of heavy things, heaving heavy things over bars - it's actually quite fascinating to watch! After the bagpipers left the stage inside the pavilion, the Housewife Games were announced - and any lady was invited to participate. Three events: frying pan toss and rolling pin toss (distance), and a haggis roll (accuracy). I turned to my festival companions and said "I have to go do that now" and went outside to register. It was free, and I got to fling things! About a dozen ladies joined me in the competition, and some were unexpectedly strong. Everyone was really friendly and chatty and cheered one another on. The gentlemen measuring our throws were really fun and good-natured. I had a blast! And came in as second-runner up, so I won a prize! I can't wait to return next year - I'm going to practice my throwing in the meantime and will be gunning for champion. :)

Super excited as Soto Mission of Hawaii launches their 2024 bon dance on Friday, August 16th, and…read moreSunday, August 17th, in sunny Nuuanu. Lots of ono food, taiko performances and dance the night away with like minded bon dancers (no shame, just follow da person in front of you! With a light breeze cooling the early dancers and volunteers we are anxious to experience the bon dance under the leadership of new Bishop Shuji Komagata and his trusty sidekick and wife Jaymie. Check out my photo of this year's menu.

It's Obon Season in Hawaii! Soto Mission hosts one of the many bon dances that occur on Oahu from…read moreJune to September. Now, I'm not Japanese and at the rate I'm going to these things, the spirit of my Chinese grandmother is going to appear and say the same thing she told my father in his youth: "You not Japanese, why you go to so many bon dances?!" But I'm just going to shrug, tell her we all miss her and ask her how the afterlife is with my grandfather who we all miss dearly too. Any who.... Soto holds a standard bon dance festival, with food, dancing, music, crafts, but relatively few games for children. No food trucks in Festival 2017, but the usual assortment of sushi, chili and rice, bentos, musubi, etc that have become the normal bon dance food. I did not see mochi, but my friends and I came at 6:30 so they may have sold out. The food and crafts are in the basement of the Mission with a huge number of tables for people to sit, eat, enjoy each other's company and make new friends. Long story short, I ended up playing tour guide for my new friend from Los Angeles here on vacation and the bon dance was our third stop, and she loved it as she's never been to a bon dance. So this is tourist friendly on her seal of approval. To the dancing! Honolulu Fukushima Bon Dance Club was the dance club for 2017, but this may change in the future. Dancing started around 7:00 with various types of dance and being open to all people who wanted to dance. There were the ardent professionals with their graceful, well trained moves and the new to the bon dance crowd just enjoying themselves among the festivities. Many people wore their yukatas despite the late afternoon heat, including children. There's some parking on site, but it fills up real fast, so grab whatever street parking you can find. Allegedly the lower school of Hongwanji nearby opens their parking up, but call to confirm. One super nice thing about this bon dance is that it's held right in front of the stairs leading into the Mission. Meaning there are plenty of places to sit down and watch, unlike other bon dances where you have to bring your own chair or just stand the whole time.

I recently visited this place a couple of times because I was attending a meeting nearby. They are…read morelocated at the Chinatown Gateway Plaza on the 2nd floor. This is the same building that has the satellite city hall office. Parking is either on the street or in nearby lots. There is a municipal parking lot in the same building which entrance is on Bethel Street. Parking is cheap. Both times I went, it was on a Sunday. I found the DAC to be so interesting with the artwork displays from mostly local artists. There is a different exhibit each month and the best part, it's free to visit. They also hold art classes there. The layout of the center is a decent size, white walls, and spacious walking thru. They also have their own restrooms which were very clean. In January, the monthly exhibit was about the WWII internment camp in Waipahu as part of the Honouliuli National Historic Site's 10th anniversary celebration. It was informative & I learned somethings that I never knew before. In March the Hawaii Watercolor Society had a member's showing, which was also an interesting exhibit seeing the beautiful water color paintings. Overall, nice experience to check out.

What a cute little place to put an art installation! Checked out the "Space Age Life, Future…read moreDesign 1957-1974" which was "an exhibition showcasing a portion of Tim Apicella's collection from a period in American and European social culture when industrial designers created with optimism, enthusiasm, and bold innovation, producing consumer goods enabled by new technologies such as brightly colored molded plastics, foam, fiberglass, metallics, and synthetic fabrics". Apologies for posting this late because the exhibit was held late January to early February 2026. For us space-age geeks out there, this was a fun exhibit. Will have to keep an eye out for future fun installations at this venue in the future.