Fairmont Orchid to Host Floating Lantern Festival

Event, in Partnership With North Hawai‘i Hospice, Returns After 3-Year Hiatus

An event to honor loved ones who have died returns to Pauoa Bay this month after a three-year hiatus.

Fairmont Orchid on the Kohala Coast, in partnership with North Hawai‘i Hospice, is hosting the Floating Lantern Festival from 5-7 p.m. Aug. 28. The event will include live music, hula, taiko drummers, Hawaiian chanting and a sunset lantern release into the bay.

“I can’t imagine a lovelier way to acknowledge people we’ve loved and lost,” Katherine Werner Brooks, executive director of North Hawai‘i Hospice, said in a press release. “As lanterns are released, they take with them our healing prayers to honor and remember those who have passed. We’re looking forward to gathering our community together once again to participate in this special event.”

The last time the event was conducted at Fairmont Orchid was in August 2019.

“The significance of this event takes on a whole new meaning after everything we’ve experienced these past couple of years,” Fairmont Orchid General Manager Charles Head said in the press release. “The ceremonial release of floating lanterns into the ocean is a beautiful way to honor loved ones who’ve passed. We’ve taken great care to ensure that all lanterns released in our bay are retrieved, repaired and restored for use in future festivals.”

Admission to the lantern festival is free. Floating lanterns for inscribing messages and decorating will be provided for a suggested donation of $20.

Food and beverages also will be available for purchase, and while complimentary self-parking is available, carpooling is encouraged.

Lanterns are used around the world in ceremonies to commemorate peace, hope and healing. Lanterns are collected at the end of the release, the bases are saved and the lantern papers are disposed of, in a respectful manner.

For more information, call North Hawai‘i Hospice at 808-885-7547.