At 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 28, marching units will line up at the corner of Lunalilo Home Road and Hawaii Kai Drive by the HK Skate Park. They head down Lunalilo Home Road toward the water and finish at Koko Marina Center. The whole parade takes an hour.
Three Saturdays later, on December 19, the second parade takes to the marina itself.
Hawaii Kai gets two holiday parades, run by two different organizations on two different stages. Each is tied to a different shopping center. Knowing which group runs which parade tells you where to stand and how to fill the rest of the day.
The street parade belongs to the Lions and ends at Koko Marina
The Hawaii Kai Holiday Parade is coordinated by the Hawaii Kai Lions Club and sponsored by Koko Marina Center. The sponsorship explains the route. The parade runs 10 to 11 a.m., and its finish line is the center at 7192 Kalanianaʻole Highway. That is also where the carnival starts.
The Koko Marina Center Christmas Carnival runs in the Marina Courtyard from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The center's event page lists:
- Photos with Santa Claus
- Christmas crafts and giveaways
- Balloon art and carnival games
- Cookie decorating with New Hope Church
The games run on a toy drive. Bring a new, unwrapped toy and you get 10 game tickets, which covers one play at each game. For a family with two or three keiki, that means picking up a few extra toys at the store the week before. The carnival is set up so you donate first and play after.
If you watch from the Hawaii Kai Drive end, you'll see the parade form up. If you watch near the courtyard, you'll see it finish and walk straight into the carnival.
The boat parade belongs to the marina association
The December parade is the Hawaii Kai Marina Community Association's event. On the association's site, its save-the-date for the 2026 Boat Parade sits on the same page as its fuel-day notices and annual marina dues, which were $600 for 2026. The parade comes out of the same group that runs the waterway day to day. For updates on December 19, check hawaiikaimarina.com. The association also posts on Instagram as @hkmca_hawaii.
Most people know it as the Festival of Lights. In its 2015 report, KHON described 22 lit boats passing Hawaii Kai Towne Center to be judged, then continuing through the marina past waterfront homes.
Towne Center was still the spectator spot last year. KITV's weekend roundup listed the December 13, 2025 parade at 5:45 p.m. and sent spectators to Hawaii Kai Towne Center, which ran a prize wheel from 4 to 7 p.m. Hawaii Pacific University's 2025 event listing said the parade started at sunset and that spectators could vote for their favorite boats.
Last year there was also a place to watch away from the shopping centers. TEX 808 at 377 Keahole St. held a 5 to 9 p.m. gathering on December 13, 2025 for people to cheer the boats from its waterfront location.
December 19 is the day the calendars line up
December 19, 2026 is the third Saturday of the month, and Koko Marina Center holds its 808 Craft & Gift Fair every third Saturday. The fair runs 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and brings in more than 70 vendors. That puts the biggest shopping day at one end of the marina and the boat parade on the water, on the same date.
You can plan the whole day around that. Based on the posted fair hours and last year's parade timing, it might look like this:
- Late morning at Koko Marina Center. Get to the 808 Craft & Gift Fair while all 70-plus vendors are set up, and do your gift shopping before the 2:30 p.m. close.
- Afternoon break. Drop the bags at home. Last year the action at the other end of the marina didn't start until late afternoon.
- Late afternoon at Hawaii Kai Towne Center. Towne Center was the judging point in KHON's 2015 account and the gathering spot in 2025, when its prize wheel opened at 4 p.m.
- Parade time. In 2025, the parade was listed for 5:45 p.m. Check hawaiikaimarina.com for this year's details before you leave.
The two shopping centers split the season. Koko Marina Center gets the November finish line and the December daytime fair. Towne Center was the evening's anchor last year.
The rest of the season, on the same Saturdays
The parades fall on Saturdays, and so do Koko Marina Center's two recurring events, the third-Saturday craft fair and a first-Saturday night market. The Eastside Underground vintage night market runs 4 to 8 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month, so after the November 7 market, the next one is December 5. That leaves exactly one Saturday between Thanksgiving and the boat parade, December 12, with nothing on the Hawaii Kai calendar.
Further up the coast, Kāhala Mall has its own holiday programming. Here's how the season lays out from mid-November:
| Date | Event | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Sip + Shop, ticketed at $60 with 11 participating merchants | Kāhala Mall | 5–8 p.m. |
| Nov. 16 – Dec. 13 | The Angel Giving Tree by Macy's | Kāhala Mall | Daily, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | 808 Craft & Gift Fair | Koko Marina Center | 10 a.m.–2:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Hawaii Kai Holiday Parade, then Christmas Carnival | Lunalilo Home Road to Koko Marina Center | Parade 10–11 a.m., carnival 11 a.m.–1 p.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Kaimukī Christmas Parade | Waiʻalae Avenue, eastbound | 6 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Eastside Underground night market | Koko Marina Center | 4–8 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | 808 Craft & Gift Fair | Koko Marina Center | 10 a.m.–2:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Christmas Boat Parade | Hawaii Kai Marina | See hawaiikaimarina.com |
Kāhala Mall's Sip + Shop on Saturday, November 14, is the one ticketed event on the list. The Angel Giving Tree runs four weeks and ends December 13, six days before the boat parade. The Kaimukī Christmas Parade is the only weeknight event. It runs eastbound on Waiʻalae Avenue from Chaminade and St. Louis to Koko Head Avenue.
Hanauma Bay's two holiday Fridays
One more date affects plans for people who host visitors over the holidays. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is open Wednesday through Sunday and closes on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. In 2026, December 25 is a Friday, and January 1, 2027 is a Friday too. Both closures land on days the bay would normally be open, so a holiday-week snorkel works best on the Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday around them.
Admission-only reservations open two days in advance. Hawaiʻi residents get in free with valid ID, and nonresidents 13 and older pay $25 plus an online fee. If your relatives fly in for Christmas, the Saturday after, December 26, is the first open day once the holiday closure ends. Check the City's Hanauma Bay page for the reservation window before you promise anyone a morning at the bay.
Between the Lions Club march on November 28 and the lit boats on December 19, Hawaii Kai's December plays out between Lunalilo Home Road, Koko Marina Center, Towne Center and the water between them.
Sue Jo at Sue's HI Homes follows the East Honolulu and Hawaii Kai calendar year-round. That includes how the marina changes from one month to the next, which is the kind of detail that matters when you're comparing marina-front homes with homes a few streets inland. If you'd like to talk through what life on the water looks like across the seasons, Schedule Your Free Consultation.
