• Waikoloa Lei Day Festival Debuts on Hawai‘i

    April 25, 2022
    KOHALA COAST, Hawai‘i Island (April 25, 2022)—The art and aloha of lei-making in Hawai‘i will be celebrated at an inaugural Waikoloa Lei Day Festival, 9 am – 7 pm Sunday, May 1, at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort, Kings’ Shops and Queens’ Marketplace.  Waikoloa Lei Day Flyer - Click Here

    This free festival will include complimentary lei-making workshops at all three sites, a lei contest and craft fair at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort, keiki activities, live music, hula performances and sidewalk sales at Kings’ Shops and Queens’ Marketplace, and a live radio broadcast at Queen’s Marketplace.
     
    The events follow a Hawaiian culture and tradition of lei-making and lei-giving reaching into the islands’ past. Students of lei-making describe the lei as representing respect, friendship or love. 

    The giving of a lei is a tangible way to show affection, and lei are often given as a greeting or farewell.
     
    Lei have traditionally been made of island flowers, fruit, seeds, nuts, leaves, shells and feathers. When crafting lei by hand, traditions and artisanry are woven into each garland. Today, the celebration of the aloha spirit and generosity of lei-giving has given rise to lei-making with a variety of materials, natural and manmade.

    The first Lei Day was celebrated on May 1, 1928. From the beginning, the day was popular, and thousands took part in the first statewide events. In 1929, Hawai‘i proclaimed May 1 an annual Lei Day. Islanders and visitors have been celebrating the gracious traditions of lei-making and lei-giving ever since. 

    Each site hosting the inaugural Waikoloa Lei Day Festival offers special attractions:


    Festivities at Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa: 9 am – 2 pm 
    The Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort will host four lei-making workshops and a four-category Lei Contest, with craft vendors on the resort’s Aka‘ula Lanai.  
    The lei-making workshops will focus on the history and technique of the haku lei, or braided lei, and the wili lei, or wound lei. Two workshops, one on each type of lei, will be held at 10 - 11 am and again 1 - 2 pm. They are open to resort guests and members of the public.  
    The four Lei Contest categories are Wili; Haku; People’s Choice; and Open. The contest will begin at 9 am, with the winners announced at 12 pm. Each of the four category winners will receive a free night’s stay at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort.
    All are welcome to attend the workshops, vote for their favorite lei and visit craft vendors, 9 am – 2 pm.   
    Proceeds from workshop registrations, contest entries and vendor fees will benefit the Visitor Industry Charity Walk.

    Festivities at Kings’ Shops: 11 am – 2 pm
    Kings’ Shops will celebrate Lei Day with free lei-making classes, including candy lei making for children. 
    A hula show woven in with a performance by a Hawaiian musical trio featuring traditional and contemporary Hawaiian music will round out the entertainment. 
    Merchants will offer sidewalk sales and specials throughout the celebration, 11 am – 2pm. 

    Festivities at Queens’ Marketplace: 2 – 7 pm 
    Queens’ Marketplace will host free lei-making workshop, demonstrations, activities for keiki, live music, hula performances, live radio broadcast, and a special merchant sidewalk sale, all open to the public 2 - 7 pm. 
    The lei-making workshops will be held on a first-come, first-served basis, 2 - 5:30 pm. Visitors can make lei of crown flower, ti leaf in the maile style, plumeria lei, or mixed blossom lei. The crown flower or pua kalaunu lei is particularly appropriate for the event at Queen’s Marketplace, as this flower, a favorite of Queen Liliu‘okalani, is the center’s new logo. Visitors can also learn to make a lei bracelet in both haku and wili style. The workshops are being hosted by two female owned local florists. 
    Keiki can learn to make lei too and have their face painted with native floral designs. A haku lei-making demonstration will be hosted by members of Halau O Po'ohala.
    As merchants spill out of their storefronts with a sidewalk sale, radio station KWXX will broadcast live, in between performances by Maka Gallinger, Hui Ho’okani and a hula performance by Miss Aloha Hawaii and Miss Kona Coffee. The festival ends with a special hula show by Halau O Po’ohala, 6 - 7 pm. 

    For more details, visit www.queensmarketplace.com.

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    Queens’ MarketPlace in Waikoloa Beach Resort, owned and operated by commercial real estate company Alexander & Baldwin: (NYSE:ALEX)  has earned a reputation among kama‘āina and visitors as “the gathering place of the Kohala Coast,” with an eclectic mix of locally-owned shops, national retailers, notable restaurants, a gourmet grocery store, a luxury cinema, a yoga studio, art galleries, and a top-rated salon and day spa. For more information, visit www.QueensMarketplace.com or call 886-8822.