On Friday evening, November 6, lanterns will leave Kailua Pier and make their way to Hale Halawai County Pavilion on Aliʻi Drive. That's opening night of the 55th Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, which runs ten days, through November 15. Nine days later, on the festival's last afternoon, Aliʻi closes to cars from the pier to Hualālai Road for the November Kōkua Kailua Village Stroll. Hale Hālāwai sits at the corner of Hualālai Road and Aliʻi Drive. So the festival begins and ends on the same block.
The festival calls itself Hawaii's oldest food festival and centers on farms, farmers and coffee history. Most of the farm tours do happen upcountry. But the big public gatherings, the ones a $10 button gets you into, land in Kailua town on two weekends. This year the most expensive night has moved out of town. If you live within walking distance of the pier, the 2026 festival comes down to three days on your own streets.
Friday, November 6: the pavilion fills up by afternoon
Opening day starts well before the parade. The Made in Hawaiʻi Artisan Market runs 2 to 9 p.m. at Hale Halawai, 75-5760 Aliʻi Drive. It brings small businesses from around the state selling handmade Hawaiʻi products, plus multicultural food trucks and pop-ups. The evening goes in three steps:
- 2 to 9 p.m. The artisan market is open at the pavilion.
- 6 to 7 p.m. The Lantern Parade moves from Kailua Pier to Hale Halawai with colorful lanterns and cultural costumes. Its event page includes a registration link for anyone who wants to walk in it.
- 7 to 9 p.m. The Multicultural Showcase features Hawaiʻi talent at the pavilion.
The showcase is where the button first comes into play. Its page asks for a $10 festival button for anyone 12 and older. The festival's main schedule says the button covers all ten days of family events and gets you special rates on ticketed ones. That same schedule says children 5 and under get in free, so the age rules differ from one page to another. If you're bringing kids between 6 and 11, check the page for that specific event before you go. Buttons are sold at every festival event, so you can buy one at the pavilion on opening night and keep it for the second weekend.
The market and parade pages don't say whether Aliʻi Drive closes for the parade. Expect a crowded evening near the pier, but don't assume the road shuts.
The middle week moves south and upcountry
Between the two weekends, most of the festival happens somewhere other than Kailua town. Here's where each piece is scheduled, based on the 2026 event schedule:
| Date | In Kailua town | Elsewhere along the coffee belt |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 6 | Artisan market, Lantern Parade, Multicultural Showcase at Hale Halawai | Kona Historical Society Living History Farm tour, Captain Cook |
| Nov. 7 | Holualoa Coffee and Art Stroll; Miss Kona Coffee competition at Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa | |
| Nov. 9 to 15 | Kona Coffee Quilt & Fiber Arts Show, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily | Through Nov. 13: Greenwell Farms tours in Kealakekua; UCC Hawaii, Buddha's Cup and Doutor "Mauka Meadows" tours in Holualoa |
| Nov. 11 | Espresso Martini & Coffee Cocktail Competition at Hale Cocoa, Kealakekua | |
| Nov. 12 | Chamber Music Night at Mokuaikaua Church, 7 to 9 p.m. | |
| Nov. 14 | Half marathon from Coconut Grove Marketplace; Hoʻolauleʻa at Makaeʻo Pavilion | Grand Finale at The Theatery, Kainaliu |
| Nov. 15 | Kōkua Kailua Village Stroll on Aliʻi Drive | Cupping Competition Awards at Buddha's Cup, Holualoa |
Coffee people working in town still have two weeknight events to themselves at Kona Coffee & Tea: barista training on November 9 from 5 to 9 p.m. and the Latte Art Throw Down on November 12 from 6 to 9 p.m.
The biggest change from last year is the Grand Finale. In 2025 it was at Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa, and general admission was $110 plus a button. For 2026 the Grand Finale moves to The Theatery and Hale Cocoa in Kainaliu, which uses a Kealakekua mailing address of 79-7384 Hawaiʻi Belt Road. Admission is $150 plus the $10 button, with a 150-guest cap. It's adults only, and the evening includes two drink tickets, a chef-curated "Taste of Kona" menu, a dessert table and dancing to Ms. Demeanor & the Felons. Six tables of ten are available at $1,500 each. That puts the festival's priciest ticket on the same night as its biggest button-admission day in town, in Kainaliu rather than Kailua.
Saturday, November 14: Aliʻi Drive closes first, Makaeʻo opens second
The second Saturday packs the most into Kailua town, and it starts before sunrise. The 100% Pure Kona Coffee Half Marathon and 5K both start at Coconut Grove Marketplace, 75-5809 Aliʻi Drive. The half marathon runs south on Aliʻi to the "Pit" at the "End of the World" and back. The 5K turns around at Aliʻi Gardens Marketplace.
Here's how the day runs:
- 5:30 a.m. Per the race's traffic advisory, both lanes of Aliʻi Drive close from Coconut Grove Marketplace to Walua Road. The southbound makai lane also closes from Coconut Grove down to just before the Hokulia bypass.
- 6:00 a.m. The half marathon starts. The 5K follows at 6:15.
- 9:00 a.m. The Hoʻolauleʻa opens at Makaeʻo County Pavilion at the Old Airport, 75-5500 Kuakini Highway. Lei contest drop-off runs until 10, and judging follows from 10 to 10:30.
- 10:30 a.m. The race closures on Aliʻi Drive end.
- 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Lei contest winners are announced and the auction runs at Makaeʻo.
- 3:00 p.m. The Hoʻolauleʻa closes.
- 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The Grand Finale runs in Kainaliu.
The two morning events are on different roads. The race closure is on Aliʻi Drive, and Makaeʻo's address is on Kuakini Highway. For anyone living along the closed stretch between Coconut Grove and Walua Road, that's a five-hour window when you can't drive Aliʻi. If you're headed to the Hoʻolauleʻa, plan your route around it.
The Hoʻolauleʻa is the closest thing the festival has to a town fair. It has multicultural entertainment, ethnic food vendors, exhibits and demonstrations, an artisan marketplace, and samples poured by coffee farmers. Admission is the $10 button. If you skip the upcountry tours all week, this is where the farms come to you.
Sunday, November 15: the festival's last day is also a regular stroll Sunday
Historic Kailua Village posted its 2026 Kōkua Kailua dates back in the spring, and November 15 was already on the list, between October 18 and the December 13 Kailua Kalikimaka edition. The festival's closing day happens to fall on the same Sunday.
Kōkua Kailua runs 1 to 6 p.m. Historic Kailua Village closes to cars and becomes a pedestrian-only marketplace from Kailua Pier to Hualālai Road. It has more than 100 vendor booths with local artisans, crafters, musicians and merchants, and leashed dogs are welcome. That carless stretch ends at Hualālai Road, the same corner where Hale Halawai hosted opening night nine days earlier.
The festival's own Sunday event takes place somewhere else at the same time. The Cupping Competition Awards Ceremony runs 1 to 3 p.m. at Buddha's Cup Sanctuary Event Space, 78-1377 Bishop Road in Holualoa. Guests can taste the winning coffees along with light pupus, games and prizes, and anyone over 12 needs the button. The coffees on that table came through a competition capped at 70 entries, with a $150 fee per entry. Sample intake closed October 16. Since the awards run 1 to 3 p.m. and the stroll runs until 6, you can taste the winners in Holualoa and still drive down to Aliʻi with time left before the booths pack up.
If you're expecting guests from the mainland for festival week, or you own a place in town and want to know how the November 14 closures affect your renters, call Donna or Jonathan at Hawaii 5 0 Realty. We're local, and we're happy to talk through the calendar with you, and anything else about Kona you're thinking about.
