Holo Holo Blog

Mark your calendars, friends; Kōloa Plantation Days is right around the corner! Grab your ʻOhana and head on down to Kōloa July 18-27, 2025. It’s the 40th Anniversary of this iconic event, celebrating Kōloa’s history, plantation lifestyle, culture, and heritage. Get ready for fantastic food, fun, music, education, and more! Oh, and Henry Kapono headlines this year! Chee Hoo!

Koloa Plantation Days

A Brief Look Back

There is evidence that the first Polynesians settled on Kauaʻi as early as 200 A.D. Hundreds of years later, the Tahitians arrived and established what is now known as Hawaiian culture. Before Captain Cook’s arrival on Kauaʻi in 1778, Hawaiians lived with little to no outside influence. Life on Kauaʻi changed quickly as missionaries, business-oriented immigrants, and laborers arrived.

Kōloa Plantation, founded on the South Shore of Kauaʻi in 1835, was the first sugar plantation in Hawaiʻi. At this time, the local population was dwindling due to diseases brought in by the outside world to which the Hawaiians had no immunity. Plantation owners contracted immigrant laborers from China, Japan, Korea, Spain, Germany, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Norway, and the Philippines.

Plantation work was a way of life and significantly shaped the evolution of Kōloa. Many of the contracted laborers stayed, purchased land, built businesses, and made a life on Kauaʻi.

Fast forward 150 years to 1985, the start of Kōloa Plantation Days. Phyllis Kunimura, a Kōloa community leader and wife to Mayor Tony Kunimura, hosted a lūʻau and other events to honor the history and culture of the plantation era. Kōloa Plantation Days has continued ever since as a celebration of the history, food, languages, art, culture, and traditions of the multitude of beautiful people who’ve shaped Kōloa Town.

This year’s ten-day festival theme is Holomua: Riding the Waves of Change. The celebration has something for everyone and is gearing up with an incredible lineup of events, including:

• Celebration Events
• Kids & Family Fun
• Island Culture & History
• Local Foods & Shopping
• Sports & Active Lifestyle

2025 Schedule of Events

All events are subject to change. For specific details and registration information, please visit koloaplantationdays.com.

Friday 7/18

• Hawaiian Sense of Place (registration required-fee for supplies): Kōloa Neighborhood Center, 10 am-12 pm & 1 pm-3 pm
• Flavors of Kukuiʻula: The Shops at Kukuiʻula, 5:30 pm-8:30 pm

Saturday 7/19

• Festival Opening and the Kōloa Pāʻina: Kōloa Village, 5 pm-8 pm
• Raphael’s Church Coffee Hour & Talk Story: St. Raphael’s Church, 8 am-9 am
• Historic Hapa Trail Walk: Depart from St. Raphael’s Church, 9 am-12 pm
• Historic Sugar Exhibit Opening: The Market Place at Kōloa Village, 4 pm-7 pm

Sunday 7/20

• Miniature Golf Tournament (keiki ages 13 & under): Lāwai Beach Resort, 10 am
• Plantation-Style Living: An Afternoon of Art, Stories, and Refreshment: The Smith Memorial Parsonage, 2 pm-5 pm
• Historic Sugar Exhibit: The Market Place at Kōloa Village, 10 am-2 pm

Monday 7/21

• Year of the Community Forests Summer Reading Events: Kōloa Public & School Library, 3 pm
• Hands-on Lei Poʻo Demonstration with Elvrine Chow: Kōloa Public & School Library, 10:30 am
• View Kaneiolouma at Poʻipū: Park at Poʻipū Beach Park & meet at the corner of Poʻipū and Hoowili Roads (turnoff to Poʻipū Beach Park), 9 am
• “Riding the Waves of Change: A Storytelling” with Master Storyteller Lopaka Kapanui: The Shops at Kukuiʻula, 6:30-8 pm
• Historic Sugar Exhibit: The Market Place at Kōloa Village, 10 am-2 pm

Tuesday 7/22

• Journey of Slack Key Guitar with Jeff Peterson Summer Reading Events: Kōloa Public & School Library, 3 pm
• Used Book Sale: Kōloa Library, 9 am-5 pm
• Kōloa Plantation Days Heritage Craft Fair: Grand Hyatt Resort & Spa, 9 am-1 pm
• Historic Sugar Exhibit: The Market Place at Kōloa Village, 10 am-2 pm

Wednesday 7/23

• Watercolor Cards with Botanical Inks Summer Reading Events: Kōloa Public & School Library, 1 pm-3 pm
• Used Book Sale: Kōloa Library, 1 pm-7 pm
• Māhāʻulepū Coastal Hike: Meet at CJM Stables, 9 am
• Kauaʻi Culinary Market: The Shops at Kukuiʻula, 3:30 pm-6 pm
• Historic Sugar Exhibit: The Market Place at Kōloa Village, 10 am-2 pm

Thursday 7/24

• Words, Earth & Aloha: The Source of Hawaiian Music Film Screening: Kōloa Public & School Library, 3 pm
• Used Book Sale: Kōloa Library, 9 am-5 pm
• Look Back Through the Sugar Era (registration required): Park at Kōloa Mill, 9 am-11 am
• Plantation Days Putting Contest (adults & keiki): Poʻipū Bay Resort Golf Club, 2 pm-4 pm
• Historic Sugar Exhibit: The Market Place at Kōloa Village, 10 am-2 pm

Friday 7/25

• Hawaiian Sense of Place (registration required-fee for supplies): Kōloa Neighborhood Center, 10 am-12 pm & 1 pm-3 pm
• Old Kōloa Town Historical Walk: Departing from the Monument across from Sueoka’s, 10 am
• Historic Sugar Exhibit: The Market Place at Kōloa Village, 10 am-2 pm

Saturday 7/26

• Annual Park Celebration: A whole afternoon with a ton of food, vendors & non-stop music entertainment all evening: Kōloa Ballpark, 2 pm-8 pm ($5 admission, keiki 12 and under are free).

Entertainment Schedule

1. 4 pm-4:15 pm Pule, National Anthem, Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi
2. 4:15 pm-4:45 pm Tsunami Taiko.
3. 4:45 pm-5:15 pm Thank You Announcements
4. 5:15 pm-6 pm Aldrine and Aaron
5. 6:15 pm-7 pm Cruz Control
6. 7:15 pm-8 pm Henry Kapono and Band

• Annual Historic Kōloa Plantation Days Parade: Kōloa School to Ballpark, 3 pm

Sunday 7/27

• Family Fun Run/Walk 5K, 10K, 10 Mile + 1 Mile Keiki Run: Poʻipū Beach Park, 6-9:30 am.

Registration required-includes jersey, breakfast & refreshments afterward, & awards for top finishers.

Schedule

1. 1 Mile Keiki Run Start Time: 8:30 am for aspiring athletes 10 years & under in the park.
2. 5K Run/Walk (3.1 miles) Start Time: 7 am for all ages. Walkers, joggers, sprinters, & strollers are welcome. Bring the entire family.
3. 10K Run (6.2 miles) Start Time: 6:45 am to test your speed and endurance.
4. 10-Mile Walk Start Time: 6:00 am for those who are committed to the distance but not the high impact.
5. 10-Mile Run Start Time: 6:30 am for those training for The Kauaʻi Marathon/Half Marathon or any distance running.

Holo Holo Charters is proud to be a contributing sponsor (again this year) for the 40th Annual Kōloa Plantation Days, and we can’t wait to see you there! Happy Summer to our Holo Holo crew!