Honolulu Entertainment

Honolulu offers good, lively entertainment, with plenty of bars, clubs and fun restaurants. Most people tend to congregate around Waikiki, and you won’t have to walk far from here to find just about any type of nightly entertainment; be it fine dining, drinking, listening to live music, clubbing or the arts.

Nightlife

The Waikiki area is the place to go for nightlife in Honolulu, with numerous beach hotels and restaurants churning out great food and music. Pick a table at one of these joints and enjoy the special ambience around sunset time. Just behind Waikiki Beach are Kalakaua and Kuhio Avenues, which are loaded with restaurants, bars and clubs. Lewers Street runs off Kalakaua Avenue towards the beach and is particularly popular, as is Kapiolani Boulevard in downtown Honolulu. The gay scene also revolves around Waikiki, while the university and the Aloha Tower Marketplace are two other great spots to enjoy the nightlife.

Theatre and music

Those into the arts will not be disappointed when visiting Honolulu, with several established theatres, a thriving orchestra and an opera company. The arts calendar is busy year-round, so it doesn’t really matter what time of year you come to Honolulu, as you will always find something on in the performing arts world. There are also several live music joints around the Waikiki area, where local bands and traditional Hawaiian stars perform nightly, with everything from rock music to jazz, blues and dance music can be sampled.

Festivals

Festivals and events happen throughout the year in Honolulu and you won’t have to wait long for something of interest to be going-off in your area. Honolulu is a year-round destination owing to the favourable temperatures, which provide an excuse to party and have a good time all year, which is just what the natives like to do. Honolulu’s parks, streets and beaches are all targeted, with parades, hula dancing and sports events being popular.

• Ala Wai Challenge shows off the skills of the Hawaiians, which have been passed down through the centuries including spear-chucking and outrigger canoe racing. The Ala Wai Challenge is held at the Ala Wai Park and is an all-day event (January).
• Honolulu International Bed Race Festival is a great event for families with kids, where various rides and a bed race go through the streets, with the proceeds going to charity (April).
• Taste of Honolulu is Hawaii's premier outdoor food festival, with lots of beer drinking and wine tasting, along with some great cooking demonstrations and fun for the kids. The event is held at the Civic Center grounds in the summer (June).
• Walter J McFarlane Regatta and Surf Race takes place not long after Taste of Honolulu in early July and features an outrigger canoe regatta and other fun events (July).
• Hawaii International Jazz Festival is held at the Sheraton Waikiki and includes jam sessions and concerts by renowned local and international jazz musicians (July).
• Waikiki Rough-Water Swim is a Labour Day swimming race for the hardy, where tough swimmers race between Sans Souci Beach and Duke Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki (September).