69th Hawai‘i County Fair in Full Swing

Hawai‘i County Fair, Sept. 19 to 22, 2019. PC: Hawai‘i County Fair Foundation

The Hawai‘i County Fair is in full swing in Hilo, with familiar family favorites and new features.

The 69th Hawai‘i County Fair is set to run 5:30 p.m. to midnight Friday, Sept. 20, 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday, Sept. 21, and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, on the grounds of the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

Local entertainers will perform and the Big Island Little Keiki Contest is slated for 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday for babies born between Sept. 21, 2018, and Sept. 22, 2019. Fifty slots are available.

There are a number of food vendors, as well as commercial and nonprofit booths.

The Hawai‘i County Fair Foundation, a nonprofit organization is hosting the fair for the third year. Previously, the Hilo Jaycees ran the event.

Carnival company EK Fernandez returns with three new rides for fairgoers: The Lolli Swings, a family swing ride that allows two people to ride next to each other; Balloon Race, which features spinning tubs controlled by the rider, and as the ride spins, it lifts in the air; and the merry-go-round, which has been absent since 2002.

This year’s fair won’t include a circus attraction.

The fair typically draws about 28,000 people.

Hawai‘i County Fair, Sept. 19 to 22, 2019. PC: Hawai‘i County Fair Foundation

Admission

Thursday, Friday and Saturday: Gate prices are $7 for adults and $3 for keiki ages 4 to 11.

Sunday: $3.50 for adults, $1.50 for keiki ages 4 to 11. Those who arrive during the first hour can get free admission by bringing two cans of food for a child’s admission and three for an adult admission.

Admission is free for children 3 and younger, as well as seniors 62 and older.

More information is available online.

Ride Prices 

The cost of rides is in addition to admission fees. Ride prices will be discounted from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and all day Sunday.

Ride credits are 10 cents each, and regular costs of rides run between 35 credits ($3.50) and 75 credits ($7.50).

For more information, see FUN PASS INFORMATION below.

Entertainment 

Thursday

• 5:30–6 p.m.: Puna Taiko Drummers
• 7–8 p.m.: Lightning Larry Dupio
• 9–10 p.m.: Kolea

Friday

• 5:30–6:30 p.m.: Bobby Reno
• 7–8 p.m.: Average Joe’s
• 9–10 p.m.: Lloyd Longakit and Friends
• 10:30–11:30 p.m.: Soul Town

Saturday

• 10:30 a.m.–noon: Little Keiki Contest
• 12:30–1:30 p.m.: To‘a Here
• 2–3 p.m.: To be announced
• 3:30–4:30 p.m.: Waiakea Intermediate Ukulele Band Booster Club
• 5:30–6:30 p.m.: Brittany Paiva
• 7–8 p.m.: Girl’s Nite Out Band
• 8:30–9:30 p.m.: Girl’s Nite Out Band
• 10–11 p.m.: Dboy Paiva

Sunday

• 10–11 a.m.: KBIG karaoke contest
• 12:30–1:30 p.m.: Ka Lea Wai — Waiakea High School Hawaiian Club
• 2:30–3:30 p.m.: Saizen Ochi and Colby Kudo (Waiakea High School)
• 4:30–5:30 p.m.: Indigenous One
• 6:30–7:30 p.m.: The Kipapa Sisters
• 8:30–9:30 p.m. Off the Grid

HOURS

• Thursday: 5:30 p.m.–Midnight
• Friday: 5:30 p.m.–Midnight
• Saturday: 10 a.m.–Midnight
• Sunday: 10 a.m.–11 p.m.

Management reserves the right at its sole discretion to close early. No refunds will be issued for closing early, weather or other cause.

FUN PASS INFORMATION

A Fun Pass is required to ride the rides, play games, purchase food and beverages from the Fernandez food concessions and buy novelties. The Fun Pass is NOT good for admission to the fair or at any of the food booths and activities operated by the Hawai‘i County Fair Foundation or its nonprofit organizations. If you purchased a Fun Pass at least year’s Hawai‘i County Fair or any other E. K. Fernandez Shows carnival or fair, any credits remaining on your card are good at this year’s Hawai‘i County Fair.

The minimum cost of a Fun Pass is $20, which will give you 200 credits on your card. If paying with cash at one of the blue machines in the Fun Passes trailer, the initial purchase requires a $20 bill. However, once you have your Fun Pass, you may reload it using a $1, $5, $10 $20, $50, or $100 bill. Fun Passes may also be purchased using cash or a credit card at one of the large red kiosks. You may reload your Fun Pass at a red kiosk or at one of the blue machines in the Fun Passes trailer.

Each Fun Pass credit is equivalent to 10 cents. $1=10 credits; $5=50 credits; $10=100 credits; $20=200 credits, $50 = 500 credits, $100 = 1,000 credits

Credits will be removed from your card by placing it on the card reader at the ride, game, novelty stand, or Fernandez food concession. Before standing in line to ride a ride or buy food, be sure you have enough credits on your card. You can check the amount of credits on your card at the machines where you purchase and reload Fun Passes or at the Fernandez food concessions. If you have enough credits for the activity, the green light on the card reader will come on when you scan your card. If you do not have enough credits, the red light will come on and you will not be able to get on the ride, buy food, or play the game.

You may have your own individual Fun Pass, or you may share a Fun Pass with family or friends. If sharing a Fun Pass, you must scan it once on the card reader for each person. For example, if a mother has two young children with her and she purchased one Fun Pass, she will need to scan her card three times on the card reader at the ride.

If you have multiple cards and want to combine the credits onto one card, you may do so at Customer Service.

Do not punch a hole in, bend, or damage your Fun Pass. The card readers cannot read damaged or altered cards. This means you will lose the credits on your card, as we cannot retrieve them from the system if the card is damaged.

Treat your Fun Pass the same as cash, as losing a Fun Pass has the same consequence as losing a $20 bill.

Do not throw away your Fun Pass, as any credits remaining on your card can be used at another EK Fernandez Shows carnival or fair. No refunds will be issued for unused credits.

If you have questions about the Fun Pass when you are at the Fair, please visit our Customer Service booth. You may also watch a video on our home page under the tab at the top of the page titled Rides.