Okinawa Festival Chair, Clarisse Kobashigawa has been very busy and is excited for tomorrows festival to kickoff.
“ This is our 40th year doing the Okinawan Festival and we are super excited to be back in-person. The theme is “Sharing Uchinanchu Aloha” and the festival continues to be one the largest ethnic festivals in the state of Hawaii.”
The team of hundreds of been prepping the Hawaii Convention Center in anticipation of a fun and packed festival. The festival hours are from 9am – 5pm on Saturday and 9am – 4pm on Sunday. And Saturday night will have a special addition.
“On Saturday night only, after the rest of the festival shuts down, we have the largest indoor Bon Dance starting at 5:30pm.”
General admission will start at 10am and will be $10.00 for adults ages 13-64 and $5 for senior citizens 65 and over. Children 12 and under are free. This year’s food booths include: andagi, andadog, Okinawa soba, pig’s feet soup (only available until 12 noon on Sunday), okidog, chili, yakitori, yakisoba, Okinawan sweet potato, and champuru plate.
“We also have food items at the County Store where you can buy stuff like andamiso, jimami tofu and yushi dofu and even pickled vegetables. The Heiwa Dori room upstairs will also be selling dry goods from Okinawa like konbu, Okinawa sobanoodles, andagi mix, shïkwasa (Okinawan lemon-lime) juice, kokuto (black sugar candy) and more.
“We want to thank all of our community supporters and sponsors such as CPB Foundation and the Hawaii Tourism Authority for their continued support of the Okinawan Festival. Proceeds support the many cultural programs of the HUOA and ensure that we can continue our mission to preserve, promote and perpetuate the Okinawan culture in Hawaii.”
For more details about the Okinawan Festival, visit our website at okinawanfestival.com
