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2026 Events and Festivities
August on Oʻahu leans into summer at full stride — ocean-sports festivals on Waikiki, the islands' biggest local-made marketplace, and Obon dances lighting up temple yards every weekend. Here are the events worth planning around this month.
Korean Festival Hawaiʻi
The 22nd annual Korean Festival is a one-day celebration of Korean culture in the islands — K-pop and traditional performances, taekwondo demos, and a long row of food vendors serving kalbi, mandoo, and kimchi. Note the venue: it has moved to Kapiʻolani Park (not Honolulu Hale, where older listings still point).
Eleven days of amateur ocean sports take over Waikiki in honor of Duke Kahanamoku, the Olympic swimmer who carried surfing to the world. Expect longboard contests, a one-mile ocean swim, beach volleyball, SUP races, and adaptive surfing, most of it free to watch from the sand. The festival is timed around Duke's August 24 birthday, when a sunrise lei-draping is held at his statue on Kuhio Beach.
The 32nd annual Made in Hawaiʻi Festival is the largest local-products marketplace in the islands — hundreds of vendors selling island-made food, crafts, art, fashion, and gifts, with live entertainment and cooking demos. Heads up on the venue: it is now at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center, not the Blaisdell Center where it ran for years.
Hawaii's Obon is unlike anywhere else. From mid-June through August, Buddhist temples across Oʻahu host community bon dances on weekend evenings — taiko drums, lantern-lit circle dancing around a yagura tower, and some of the best temple food you'll find. Visitors are genuinely welcome to join the dancing. August venues fill out the calendar across ʻAiea, Pearl City, Waipahu, and beyond; check the live schedule for the current week's temples.
One of the oldest and most respected open-ocean swims in the country, the Waikīkī Roughwater Swim sends swimmers on a 2.4-mile course from Sans Souci (Kaimana) Beach to the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It's a great spectator morning even if you're not racing — the start and finish are easy to watch from shore.
The third Friday of August is a Hawaiʻi state holiday marking the islands' 1959 admission as the 50th U.S. state. It's observed as a day off rather than a celebration — and it remains a contested anniversary for many Native Hawaiians, so we mention it as a practical note rather than an event. For visitors it mainly means a three-day weekend with state and county offices, courts, and public schools closed.
When: Friday, August 21st, 2026
Where: Statewide
August packs Oʻahu's calendar with ocean tradition and community energy — Duke's OceanFest is the anchor, but the Made in Hawaiʻi Festival, Korean Festival, and Obon season give visitors a real window into island life beyond the beach. Looking just past the month, the Okinawan Festival lands Labor Day weekend (Sept 5-6) at the Convention Center if you're staying into early September.
Trade winds are strong right now, with high surf hitting the south shore today. Windward areas are seeing frequent showers through the weekend.
South-facing beaches have dangerous surf today through Sunday—stay out of the water unless you're an experienced swimmer. East-facing shores will build rough water by Sunday or Monday. The bigger picture is a tropical system, Fausto, heading our way. It's weakening but should arrive near the islands by Tuesday or Wednesday as a tropical storm or weaker system, bringing strong winds, rough seas, and heavy rain. The exact track is still uncertain, so check the forecast daily.
Get your beach time and water activities in today through early next week on the leeward side, where conditions stay calmer. Be ready to shift plans by midweek when conditions turn rough.
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Windy conditions across Maui right now, with trade winds gusting strong. South-facing shores have high surf today and will see another big swell Saturday and Sunday—the water's dangerous unless you're an experienced ocean swimmer.
Through the weekend, windward areas will get frequent showers while trade winds stay gusty. The bigger picture arrives midweek: Hurricane Fausto is weakening as it moves toward the islands and should reach Maui as a tropical storm or weaker system Tuesday or Wednesday. That'll bring rough seas, strong winds, and heavy rain. Track and timing are still uncertain, so check updates daily.
Hit the leeward beaches and snorkel south Maui coasts today through early next week, but stay out of windward and south-facing waters through Sunday.
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Windy conditions dominate right now with strong trade winds pushing across the island. South-facing shores have high surf today—dangerous water if you're not an experienced swimmer.
Through the weekend, those south shores see another big swell Saturday and Sunday, and east-facing shores will build dangerous conditions by Sunday or Monday. Windward areas get frequent showers. A tropical system—the remnants of Hurricane Fausto—is weakening and headed toward the islands as a tropical storm or weaker system by Tuesday or Wednesday, bringing rough seas, strong winds, and heavy rain midweek. Timing and track are still uncertain, so check updates daily.
Leeward beaches on the Kona side stay your best bet today through early next week, but avoid the water on the windward and south shores through Sunday.
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Strong trade winds are pushing showers across windward areas through the weekend. On Kauaʻi, expect frequent showers on the windward side.
High surf is running on south-facing shores today and will build again Saturday and Sunday—stay out of the water unless you're an experienced swimmer. East-facing shores will also see dangerous swell by Sunday or Monday. Hurricane Fausto is weakening as it moves toward Hawaii. By Tuesday or Wednesday it should reach the islands as a tropical storm or weaker system, bringing rough seas, strong winds, and heavy rain. Track and timing are still uncertain, so check updates daily through midweek.
Beach time on leeward shores works through early next week. Plan water activities for today, but be ready to shift if Fausto's track becomes clearer—conditions will deteriorate by midweek.
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Created with AI from this HawaiiGuide page and read by a computer-generated voice. Double-check fees, hours, and reservations on the full page before you head out. Hawaiian pronunciation is tricky for synthesized speech and a few words may land slightly off; mahalo for your patience as we keep refining.
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