Kona Coffee Festival Kicks Off with Lantern Parade

PC: Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Facebook page

The 49th Annual Kona Coffee Culture Festival begins today.

The 10-day festival celebrates the harvest as Kona coffee farms offer a firsthand look at growing the crop. The ensuing days will also highlight the coffee art scene, music and dance enrich cultural exchanges. Kona coffee and food events will offer tastings, and hands-on cultural events help tell the story of Kona’s rich coffee history.

The festivities will kick off tonight with the Lantern Parade and Bon Dance in Kailua Village. Starting at 6 p.m. at Kailua Pier, participants will walk down Ali‘i Drive to Hale Halawai where there will be traditional Bon Dance.

At 4 p.m., festival goers are invited to decorate lanterns in memory of loved ones and march in the parade.

Click here to view a list of the festival’s events for the next 10 days.