Mark your calendar now for Niu Festival: A Ho‘opono Event in Hilo

Hui ʻOihana – Hawaiʻi Island Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce invites the community to a full day of cultural and educational activities centered on niu, the coconut, which is often referred to as the “tree of life.”

Niu Festival: A Ho‘opono Event is scheduled for 9 a.m. Feb. 22 in downtown Hilo, beginning with outdoor community activities and concluding later in the afternoon/evening with a film screening and more at the historic Palace Theatre.

Community members are invited from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. along Haili Street — which will be temporarily closed adjacent to the Palace Theatre — to an immersive outdoor learning environment.

There will be hands-on cultural practices, educational stations, food and demonstrations that highlight the cultural, agricultural and environmental significance of niu.

Festivities continue at 2 p.m. inside the Palace Theatre for an afternoon and evening program that weaves together cultural expression and storytelling.

The evening agenda includes a hula presentation by Hālau Unuokeahi, reflections and teachings from Manulani Aluli Meyer and screening of the documentary “Niu Forever.”

The film will be presented by producer and director Alex Cantatore, whose work focuses on environmental, social and spiritual well-being through place-based storytelling.

Insights from Indrajit Gunasekara, a niu expert with a 3,000-year lineage connected to coconut cultivation, use and stewardship is also part of the evening program.

Niu Festival: A Ho‘opono Event is designed as a communitywide event that brings together culture, education, environmental awareness and economic resilience.

“Niu Festival is about more than a single day or event — it’s about remembering our relationship to niu as a source of life, food security, cultural continuity and collective responsibility,” said Hui ʻOihana President Misty Carter in an announcement for the upcoming festival. “At the same time, we are facing real and urgent threats, including the spread of the coconut rhinoceros beetle. This gathering creates space to educate our community, share ʻike and strengthen awareness around how we protect niu through stewardship, prevention and collective action. Through practice, storytelling and education, we are engaging ho‘opono truth, balance and mutual emergence to guide how we care for our lands, our people and future generations.”

The festival is free and open to the public from keiki to kūpuna. ʻOhana are encouraged to attend.

Participating partners and organizations include Big Island Invasive Species Committee, Kaulunani, Puʻuhonua Society, Niu Now, Pōhaku Pelemaka, Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity and a wide range of cultural practitioners and community-based organizations.

Contact Hui ʻOihana – Hawaiʻi Island Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce at piko@huioihana.com for additional information and partnership inquiries.