Hawaii Kai gets two holiday parades this year, three weeks apart. On November 28, marchers start at the skate park and walk down Lunalilo Home Road to Koko Marina Center. On December 19, the parade moves onto the water, with lit-up boats on the marina.
Between Halloween and that last parade, nearly every event on the East Side calendar falls on a Saturday, and the Saturday farmers market on Keahole Street runs every week in between.
Eight Saturdays, Counted From Halloween
From October 31 through December 19 there are eight Saturdays. Six of them have something scheduled beyond the weekly market:
- Saturday, October 31. Halloween Trick-or-Treating at Koko Marina Center, 4 to 7 p.m., with participating tenants plus a Monster Mash and K-pop dance party and a Ghostbusters vehicle in the courtyard.
- Saturday, November 7. The 1st Saturday ESU Night Market, presented by Eastside Underground at Koko Marina Center, runs 4 to 8 p.m. Earlier that day, the Mālama Hawaiʻi Makers Market sets up at Koko Head Elementary School, 189 Lunalilo Home Road, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. A Blood Bank of Hawaii bloodmobile will also be in the Walgreens parking lot at Koko Marina Center. It takes appointments only, at 808-848-4700.
- Saturday, November 14. Only the weekly market.
- Saturday, November 21. The 808 Craft & Gift Fair at Koko Marina Center, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with more than 70 local vendors, according to the organizer.
- Saturday, November 28. The Hawaii Kai Holiday Parade and the Christmas carnival afterward, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
- Saturday, December 5. The Mālama Hawaiʻi Makers Market returns to Koko Head Elementary, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Saturday, December 12. Only the weekly market.
- Saturday, December 19. The Hawaii Kai Marina Community Association's boat parade.
Koko Marina Center hosts most of this list, and its Island Craft Fairs series has no more dates on the books for November or December. That leaves the November 21 fair as the center's main daytime shopping event before the parade.
The Saturday That Repeats
The one event that runs every week sits at the other end of the neighborhood. Since June, Hawaiʻi Kai Shopping Center at 377 Keahole St. has hosted a Saturday farmers market with Abl Market, open 8 a.m. to noon, selling vegetables, fruit, flowers and prepared food. In its September 30 tenant update, center owner Hunt Companies Hawaiʻi says the market "continues to grow." It also says Hunt is in talks with Abl Market about other programs that bring produce from local farms to the community.
On the busier Saturdays, that matters. On November 7 and November 21, a morning at Keahole Street ends by noon, and the Koko Marina Center events start later. The night market doesn't begin until 4 p.m., and the November 21 craft fair runs until 2:30. You can do both in one day without trying to be in two places at once.
The same update lists what's new at the center:
- Bakehouse by Island Brew soft-opened in July and held its grand opening in early August. It's a 494-square-foot bakery run by Pei-Yu Wen, who also owns Island Brew Coffeehouse next door. The menu covers fresh bread, sweet and savory baked goods, desserts, ice cream and milkshakes, with seating right outside the door.
- Island Family Chiropractic opened next to Leahi Health and Territorial Savings, after years at a nearby center.
- Tattoo Labyrinth moved upstairs to the second floor above Noods Ramen Bar.
- CU Convenience, the South Korean chain, has signed a lease for 1,326 square feet next to Hana Sushi on Keahole Street. Opening is expected in early 2027, so it won't be part of this year's holidays.
The One Sunday, When the Highway Closes
One weekend morning in the season isn't a Saturday, and it's the only one that closes the main road. On Sunday, November 22, Kalanianaʻole Highway closes completely from Sandy Beach Park to Lunalilo Home Road from 6 to 8 a.m. for the Ka Iwi Coast Run & Walk. Honolulu's Department of Parks and Recreation posted the closure because it affects the Koko Head Shooting Complex: reservations for the first shooting period that morning are suspended, and early access to the archery range is affected.
The race covers 4 miles. According to the official race site, the opening ceremony is at 6:30 a.m. and the start at 6:45 a.m., at Awāwāmalu, also known as Sandy Beach. The course finishes at Hui Nalu Canoe Club's halau on Maunalua Bay. Hui Nalu O Hawaiʻi organizes the event. Proceeds go to Hui Nalu Canoe Club programs and support the Ka Iwi Coalition, Livable Maunalua Hui and other East Honolulu nonprofits, according to the race's About page. Registration is linked from the race site.
So the race runs along the Ka Iwi coast toward the bay, which is where the season is heading anyway. Anyone with an early surf session at Sandy's or a dawn drive toward Makapuʻu that Sunday should plan around the 6-to-8 window.
November 28, on Lunalilo Home Road
The land parade comes first. The Hawaii Kai Lions Club coordinates the Hawaii Kai Holiday Parade and Koko Marina Center sponsors it. It runs 10 to 11 a.m., starting at Lunalilo Home Road and Hawaii Kai Drive by the skate park and marching down Lunalilo Home Road to Koko Marina Center.
The parade ends where the Christmas Carnival Celebration begins, in the Marina Courtyard from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The center's event page lists:
- Photos with Santa Claus
- Christmas crafts and giveaways
- Balloon art and carnival games
- Cookie decorating with New Hope Church
The center is also running a toy drive. Donate a new, unwrapped toy and you get 10 tickets, each good for one carnival game.
Lunalilo Home Road also comes up twice more this season: the Mālama Hawaiʻi Makers Market at Koko Head Elementary on November 7 and December 5, and as the end of the November 22 highway closure. For the four weeks between Halloween and the parade, that road is where much of the season happens.
December 19, on the Water
Three weeks after the land parade, the Hawaii Kai Marina Community Association, the parade's annual sponsor, holds its boat parade on December 19. Its site says "Save the Date!" and gives the date. The same site lists the 2025 winners and links a video of the 2025 Festival of Lights.
The association hasn't posted a 2026 start time or route yet. Past years give a rough idea. Koko Marina Center's 2022 notice said the parade started at dusk. Hawaii Kai Towne Center's 2024 event page said it started at sunset. In 2016, KHON reported that boats passed Hawaii Kai Towne Center for judging and then toured the marina past waterfront homes. Those details tell you how the parade has run before. For this year's timing and route, check the association's page as December 19 gets closer.
Boat owners planning a display should note one more line on that site: 2026 marina dues were $600, and the 2027 amount will be shared with members by early December, a couple of weeks before the parade.
Around the Edges of the Season
Two nearby spots have their own schedules this fall:
- Makapuʻu Lookout. The Hawaiʻi Division of State Parks has closed the upper viewing area at Kaiwi State Scenic Shoreline for repairs from October 21 to November 4, 2026. It's closed all day on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays during that period, and viewing is limited on other days. The notice is about the upper viewing area and doesn't announce a closure of the Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail. Halloween and the first weekend of November both fall inside the closure.
- Hanauma Bay. The City's preserve page lists hours of Wednesday through Sunday, with entry from 6:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the beach cleared at 3:30 p.m. and everyone out by 4 p.m. Kamaʻāina with a valid photo ID get in free without a reservation during public hours, and resident parking is $1. The City says the schedule can change.
If you're bringing a toy for the courtyard toy drive on November 28 or want help planning a December 19 evening around the marina, Kalei Wodehouse knows East Oʻahu's calendar as well as its coastline. Schedule a personal consultation, and bring your questions about Hawaii Kai's waterfront.
