Okinawan Festival moving to convention center

The annual Okinawan Festival will move indoors this summer for the first time, leaving its longtime home at Kapiolani Park.

While announcing their final decision on the event’s move to the Hawai‘i Convention Center last week, Hawaii United Okinawa Association officials in their newsletter promised that crowd favorites like andagi, pig’s feet soup and Okinawan soba will still be available.

The 36th annual cultural festival will be held, like always, over Labor Day weekend, which falls this year on Sept. 1 and 2.

Okinawa Association President Courtney Takara said members and past club officials were consulted before a decision was made, and additional input is being sought as the planning proceeds.

“The move is huge and we want to respect the fact that we have very fond memories of Kapiolani Park,” Takara said.

Prior to the 2017 festival, officials said they were seeking an indoor venue because of the threat of storms during hurricane season and the dwindling number of skilled volunteers — plumbers, electricians and carpenters — needed to set up the stage, a country store and cultural and food booths.

The festival was canceled in 2016 due to a hurricane threat.

Aside from protection from the weather, Takara said the convention center offers a stable, flat surface for people in wheelchairs and with strollers, and access to handicapped parking stalls and bathrooms.

They decided on a three-year pilot project to use the convention center, allowing for “a year to work the kinks out,” Takara said. The association does not intend to sign a three-year contract with the venue, leaving the door open to return to the park, she said.

“If the square peg does not fit into the round hole, we’re not going to force ourselves to stay there,” Takara said.

An estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people attend the outdoor festival annually, making it one of the most popular cultural events in Honolulu. The 2017 festival “ was very successful and more than broke even,” Takara said.

The logistical costs of hosting the event at the park, which include tent rentals and around-the-clock security for a week, were comparable to the cost of renting the convention center, she said. “A key part of the decision was that from a financial perspective, it made sense,” she said.

Takara said the festival will use two of the center’s three exhibition halls and third-floor meeting rooms.

The convention center has larger seating capacity than the Kapiolani Park bandstand, Takara said, adding that Blaisdell Center was not big enough to contain festival activities. As for parking, the festival committees are looking at shuttling people from other sites.

“We will miss the outdoor atmosphere,” Takara, said. “That is something we cannot recreate. We are looking at ways to offset the look of the convention center.” This may include designated rest areas “where people can gather, eat, talk story with their families, the same as at Kapiolani Park.”

Karen Takara, 74, who works at the Okinawa Association and is not related to Courtney Takara, said seniors who like to go to the festival in the morning and sit on the benches all day will appreciate the air conditioning at the convention center.

Festival Chairwoman Jo Ige said, “It seems like people are embracing the idea and looking forward to the festival. We just want to share the Okinawa experience.”

Although the location has changed, Jo said the need for volunteers hasn’t. For more information, visit huoa.org.