The Made in Hawaii Festival is back for its 32nd year, and the 2026 dates are locked in: August 20-23 at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu. If your late-August Oʻahu trip overlaps, I’d put this near the top of the list for bringing home something actually made on the islands instead of the mass-produced stuff lining Waikīkī shelves.

The festival’s 2026 planning materials describe it as the state’s largest exhibition of Made in Hawaii products, drawing around 70,000 attendees and requiring vendor goods to meet the state’s Made in Hawaiʻi standards. Food, clothing, jewelry, art, skincare, coffee, chocolate, mac nuts, and crafts — all from businesses with real Hawaiʻi roots. The June planning note: dates are posted, vendor applications are closed, and I’d watch the official site for the 2026 ticket and program release before you commit to a specific day.

Dates: August 20-23, 2026 (Thursday through Sunday)

Location: Hawaii Convention Center, 1801 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu

Hours: The official website currently lists Thursday and Friday evenings (6:30-10 p.m.) and full days Saturday (8 a.m.-10 p.m.) and Sunday (8 a.m.-7 p.m.). I’d still confirm close to your trip before locking a day in, because ticketing and public-entry details may be clarified as the program posts.

Tickets: 2026 ticket pricing and purchase links also weren’t live yet at this refresh. Sign up for the festival mailing list or follow the official social channels if the festival is the anchor of your Oʻahu dates.

Getting there: The convention center sits between Waikīkī and Ala Moana. From Waikīkī, I’d walk, take a rideshare, or hop on TheBus rather than fight for a parking spot in a packed festival garage.

The vendor information page confirms 2026 applications are closed, which means the exhibitor list should start firming up as summer rolls on. The public-facing site hasn’t posted the final 2026 program yet, so treat any vendor roster, entertainment lineup, or chef-demo schedule as tentative until it shows up on the official channels.

What’s stable is the underlying filter. The festival is produced by the Hawaii Food Industry Association, and the about page describes it as a marketplace for products that meet the Made in Hawaiʻi requirements. For visitors, that’s the whole point: you can compare hundreds of local makers in one air-conditioned room, taste before you buy, and route more of your souvenir budget to businesses based in Hawaiʻi.

The festival is basically every farmers market, craft fair, and specialty shop across the islands compressed into one weekend. The categories I’d target:

Hawaiian coffee and chocolate. Kona coffee roasters, Maui cacao producers, and Kaʻū coffee farms tend to show up here. Many offer samples, and you’ll often find small-batch stuff that never makes it to mainland shelves.

Skincare and soaps. Small-batch lines built on local ingredients — kukui nut oil, plumeria, awapuhi, macadamia oil. A good place to discover brands you wouldn’t stumble onto in a Waikīkī ABC Store.

Hawaiian sea salt. Molokai red, black lava, and white Hawaiian sea salt from local producers. Real specialty ingredients, not just packaging.

Art and prints. Local photographers, painters, and printmakers selling originals and limited-edition prints. If you want wall art from your trip, I’d start here before a Waikīkī gallery.

Clothing and aloha wear. Hawaii-designed and -sewn aloha shirts, dresses, and accessories. You can feel the fabric difference next to the cheap imports.

Food products. Mac nut butters, lilikoi jams, Hawaiian honey, dried mango, hot sauces. Pack jams and liquids in checked luggage — TSA won’t let them through carry-on.

Weekdays will likely be calmer. Locals tend to treat this as a weekend outing, so Saturday and Sunday usually pull the biggest crowds. If your schedule is flexible, a Thursday or Friday visit is probably the easier experience — but confirm public hours before you commit.

Bring some cash. Most vendors take cards, but smaller food booths sometimes go cash-only. Don’t count on an on-site ATM being available or fast.

Wear comfortable shoes. You’ll be on concrete floors across multiple exhibition halls, and you’ll walk more than you expect.

Bring a small insulated bag. If you’re buying chocolate, mac nut products, or anything that melts, the convention center is cold but the walk back to your car or hotel is not. A cooler bag saves your purchases.

Plan how you’ll get it home. If you buy more than you can carry, USPS Priority Mail flat-rate boxes are a reliable option from any post office. Some festivals also have on-site shipping booths — worth checking the program when it posts.

The festival is a short hop from Waikīkī and Ala Moana. If you need a car for the rest of your Oʻahu trip, Discount Hawaii Car Rental has pickup at Honolulu Airport and Waikīkī locations. But for festival day itself, going car-light is probably less stressful.

If the Made in Hawaii Festival anchors your August trip, a couple of other events tend to overlap or land nearby:

Duke’s OceanFest — Typically mid-to-late August in Waikiki. A week of ocean sports competitions honoring Duke Kahanamoku, including surfing, paddleboard racing, and swimming. Free to watch from the beach.

Hawaiian Slack-Key Guitar Festival — Usually a Sunday in August at a Waikiki venue. Free admission, outdoor setting, some of the best slack-key players in the islands.

For a full list of Oahu events, see our annual Oahu festivals guide. For island-wide events across all four islands, check our events hub.