The 29th annual Honolulu Festival kicked off Friday with private educational school tours at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, offering more than 550 students from 14 schools across Oahu a hands-on cultural experience. Students interacted with performers from Japan and other Pacific Rim nations, engaging in traditional dances, songs and activities.
The festival opens to the public today and runs through Sunday with a variety of performances, events and cultural showcases throughout Ala Moana Center and Waikiki. Additional exhibitions are at the convention center.
Ted Kubo, president of the Honolulu Festival Foundation, said this year’s turnout is the largest since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, the festival attracted around 700 to 800 students, and Friday’s event welcomed approximately 560 students from across the island.
Starting today, anyone under 18 can enter the exhibition hall for free, a move Kubo said reflects the foundation’s commitment to education.
“It’s wonderful to see their eyes being very curious and experiencing these different kinds of cultures,” Kubo said. “This is one of the core values of the festival’s foundation: educating children on cultural exchange, which we believe leads to world peace.”
Hawaii already offers many opportunities for children to experience diverse cultures, Kubo added. However, interacting directly with performers from Pacific Rim countries, including Japan and Australia, provides a deeper, more personal understanding of different cultures, traditions and heritage.
The educational tours were free for participating schools, and all performers and cultural groups volunteered their time at no cost.
Mari Masuno, a third grade teacher at Lunalilo Elementary School, said her 41 students were “super excited” to attend the educational school tour.
“They are looking forward to learning more about different cultures that shape our community and our country,” Masuno said. “Last year we had cultural performances, and students really enjoyed discovering different traditions. It aligns with our curriculum, which focuses on understanding cultural roots, so we’re really excited to be here.”
Lunalilo Elementary, located in the McCully area, incorporates cultural education into its curriculum, including a dedicated teacher who introduces students to Japanese traditions. The school is home to a diverse student body, including many from different Pacific islands.
“There are so many different cultures here, and our students are used to learning alongside classmates from various backgrounds. They’ve developed an appreciation for cultural differences,” Masuno said.
She added that festival activities last year included cultural games and dance performances, which helped students recognize similarities between their own traditions and those of other cultures.
“When students learn about different cultures, they see connections to their own — special foods, unique celebrations and traditional attire,” Masuno said. “They begin to understand that while every culture has its own unique beliefs and ways of celebrating, there are also many common threads that bring people together.”
Lunalilo Elementary third grader Ezrael Temblor Alapai, 8, said that while he is Filipino, Chinese and Japanese, he doesn’t know much about his cultural heritage because it isn’t often discussed at home. Instead, he learns about different traditions mostly at school.
“I learned about Chinese New Year, and I also like Japanese culture, like Girls Day,” Ezrael said.
He added that he was excited to watch performances at the festival, including Japanese and Mexican dances, as a way to expand his knowledge of different cultures and share what he learns with his family and friends.
Ibuki Teramoto traveled from Japan with a group of 29 artists to showcase the traditional art of Japanese calligraphy. The group specializes in writing names in kanji, transforming them into intricate and meaningful characters.
Within the first hour of the festival, Teramoto’s team created approximately 150 personalized nameplates (kanban) for students.
“I was very excited to hear one boy say, ‘Thank you for an excellent kanban,’ and that made me and my team very happy,” Teramoto said.
She noted Hawaii’s strong Japanese presence and hopes that children with Japanese heritage will deepen their connection to their roots, learning more about their culture and traditions.
“I hope many people, especially children, become interested in learning to read Japanese, understanding the culture and speaking the language with their families or friends at school,” Teramoto said. “I want to help spread Japanese culture.”
Gordon Walker, a dance instructor for a Cuban performance group, said his team volunteered to perform Friday to introduce students to the art of dance. The group focused on Rueda de Casino, a Cuban-style dance that involves synchronized movements in a circle.
“It’s really important to us,” Walker said. “A lot of us were exposed to dance when we were younger and we want to pass it on to the younger generations. The kids were so excited — getting up, dancing and moving around.”
Lanakila Elementary School teacher Jacquelin Ho led a group of 50 third graders to the Honolulu Festival to learn about different cultures and the connections Hawaii shares with other countries, including its sister cities in Japan.
“We have a lot of students whose ethnic backgrounds trace back to China, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Philippines and Vietnam and many Pacific Islands, including the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Samoa,” Ho said. “This quarter, they’ve been learning about human geography — why people immigrate to different places — and exploring their own cultures. This festival is a perfect opportunity for them to experience different traditions and interact with people from around the world.”
Divine Suyat, 9, a third-grader at the Liliha area school, said she often learns about her Hawaiian heritage, including hula, which she occasionally practices at school.
“I’m excited to watch people dance hula at the festival and also learn about other cultures and different dances,” she said.
