Every year, locals and visitors alike look forward to the massive Made in Hawaii Festival. But, with COVID and its associated travel restriction, the Made in Hawaii Festival 2020 moves online to keep the show going.
If you’ve never been to the Made in Hawaii Festival, it is an enormous event that takes up nearly all of Honolulu’s Neal S. Blaisdell Center. Both the exhibition hall and arena are jam-packed with vendors. In fact, things are so tight and the crowds are so large, that it’s often difficult to walk around. Clearly, these are not great conditions given the current pandemic.
With all of the economic hurt brought on by the pandemic, though, it’s more important than ever to keep the show going. So, I love that the Made In Hawaii Festival 2020 will go on, albeit online.
Made in Hawaii Festival 2020
The Made in Hawaii Festival 2020 kicks off online today and runs through Sunday at, well, madeinhawaiifestival.com. There, you can shop the 200+ participating vendors, while also enjoying live (virtual) entertainment by a Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning lineup, as well as live (virtual) cooking demonstrations by Hale Aina Award-winning chefs.
Schedule of Events
Want to know when to tune in to catch specific events? Here’s the line-up with all times stated in Hawaii Standard Time.
Friday 8/21
- Billy V Live 3:00 pm to 3:45 pm
- Chef Russell Siu of 3660 on the Rise at 4:00 pm
- Kani Ka Pila Music Jam with Ka Hehena 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
- Chef Lance Kosaka of Fifty Three by the Sea at 7:00 pm
Saturday 8/22
- Chef Lee Anne Wong of Koko Head Cafe/Hawaiian Airlines/Papa’aina at the Pioneer Inn at 12:00 pm
- Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival, Kona Style with Bobby Moderow, Jr. and Kawika Kahiapo 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
- Chef Chai of Chef Chai at 2:00 pm
- Kani Ka Pila Grille Tallent Search 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Sunday 8/23
- Melveen Leed 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
- Chef Andrew Recca of Koko Head Cafe at 12:00 pm
- Chef Jason Ichiki of Roy’s Hawaii Kai at 12:00 pm
- Kani Ka Pila Music Jam with Nathan Aweau 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Yeah, I know. Sunday has two cooking demonstrations scheduled for the same time. I don’t think that’ll actually happen that way. But, that’s what the website says!
My Favorite Vendors
The Made in Hawaii Festival is where I discovered one of my favorite clothing vendors, HVN Apparel. And, though they’re listed as a vendor this year, I think that’s incorrect. I believe they stopped operations about a year ago. But, hey, if they’re back, that would be awesome!
Anyway, other vendors I know and love on the list this year include:
- Hawaii Pantry
- Hawaiian Chip Company
- Hawaiian Pie Company
- Hurricane Popcorn
- Mana Up Hawaii
- Manoa Chocolate
- Maui Crisps
- Maui Nui Venison
- Mauna Kea Tea
- Monkeypod Jam
- Naked Cow Dairy Farm & Creamery
- Nosh
- Ono Giant Shrimp Chips
- ‘Ulu Mana Hawaii
Made in Hawaii Festival 2020 Moves Online, Final Thoughts
I’m a strong proponent of supporting local businesses. In fact, if you’ve been following me on Instagram and viewing my stories, you’ll see that I’ve been sourcing and cooking with tons of local ingredients lately. But, I also try to prioritize buying other things, like clothes, that are made in Hawaii as well. So, you can sure as hell bet that I’ll be browsing the online marketplace when it goes live! And, I hope you guys will too.
clicked the fesitival link, presently closed (12:20 EST)
Aloha Jon, I clicked the link at 2:55 pm EST and the market is live. Please try again or copy and paste https://madeinhawaiifestival.com
Your website should carry a purchase link whereby purchasers can purchase items from your vendors through your website; just like purchasing on eBay or Amazon.
You could also add in a link to PayPal for your online purchasers to make their payment and you can then take your 5% from the proceeds of sale.