Hawai‘i celebrates Kamehameha Wave of unification and destined chief with same name

Hawai‘i celebrates on June 11 each year a Kamehameha Wave that in the early 19th century swept across the entire island chain.

However, rather than it being the blazing blue beam of ki that is the signature energy move of Goku, main character of the popular “Dragon Ball” anime franchise, what Hawai‘i experienced was a wave of unification led by a chief of destiny with the same name.

King Kamehameha Day celebrates King Kamehameha I — also known as King Kamehameha the Great — who in 1810 became the first ruler of a fully unified Kingdom of Hawai‘i, following years of warfare between the chiefs of each island.

Celebrating the Great Unifier

Several celebrations take place each year around the Big Island and elsewhere in honor of the great ali‘i, including two planned today in Hilo and North Kohala on the Big Island.

Royal Order of Kamehameha I Māmalahoa — in partnership with Rotary Club of Hilo; The Food Basket, Hawai‘i Island’s Food Bank; and Kamehameha Schools Alumni Association East Hawai‘i Region — hosts the family-friendly Kamehameha Day 2026 event from 8 to 11 a.m. Thursday, June 11, in Hilo at Kamehameha Statue Park.

“Join us as we honor Kamehameha Ekahi through community wellness, physical activity and giving back to our island families,” says a flyer for the festival, which will include a community health fair, fun run/walk and food drive. “Participants are encouraged to bring canned food donations to support [The Food Basket].”

Free health screenings, resources and wellness information will be available at the health fair, and all ages are welcome to participate in the fun run/walk.

Kamehameha Statue Park is located at 774 Kamehameha Ave. in Hilo.

Call 808-987-3841 or email to kuauhau.mamalahoa@gmail.com for additional information.

Lā Kamehameha Ho‘olaule‘a, the annual Kamehameha Day celebration in the king’s birthplace of North Kohala, is from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.

Community members are invited to Kamehameha Park in Kapa‘au for a day full of local food, handmade crafts and local entertainment: “Bring your chairs or mats and come and enjoy the day,” says the event website.

Celebrations actually begin at 5:30 a.m. with a sunrise ceremony including prayers, the sounding of the conch and drums. Cultural practitioners set the purpose and intentions of the day, and those in attendance who know the protocol are invited to join.

Hālau, organizations and people will also present chants and hula for ali‘i.

While the ceremony is open to the public, it is not a show. Everyone in attendance is asked to be reverent, remain mindful of roped boundaries and show respect to presenters, as there might chants held sacred to a person or hālau.

Among other early opening ceremonies is the Procession of the Royal Societies at 8 a.m., as these organizations make their way to the King Kamehameha statue.

That will be followed by the lei draping ceremony at 9 a.m., during which lei drapers use traditional lei poles to dress the King Kamehameha statue. Each is carefully and skillfully placed on the king’s arm, with no hand raised above his head and no lei placed on his sacred cloak.

An annual floral parade full of floats and pa‘u riders then marches throughout the community, leading up to the daylong celebration at the park.

Organizers say the best way to experience the moment is to arrive by 7 a.m. and park at Kamehameha Park, from where it is only a short walk to the statue and parade viewing.

Visit the North Kohala Kamehameha Day Celebration website for additional information and more details.

Reason for the celebration and holiday

The great warrior, diplomat and leader who was Kamehameha the Great was destined for greatness from birth.

Hawaiian prophecy said the birth of a great chief would be signaled by a light in the sky with feathers like a bird.

Historians say that light was likely Halley’s Comet blazing across the sky in 1758, the year most widely and commonly accepted as when Kamehameha I was born in Kokoiki, North Kohala.

Kamehameha’s campaign to unite the islands as one kingdom began in 1782, with full-blown war stretching until 1795 after he conquered Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Oʻahu, allowing him to officially form the united Hawaiian Kingdom.

It was in 1810, however, when Kaua’i peacefully accepted Kamehameha’s rule that his complete unification of Hawai‘i was achieved.

“Kamehameha’s unification of Hawaiʻi was significant not only because it was an incredible feat, but also because under separate rule, the islands may have been torn apart by competing western interests,” says the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority website.

There are four commissioned statues that stand today in honor of King Kamehameha’s achievements and memory — one in Hilo and one in North Kohala on Hawai‘i Island, one in downtown Honolulu and another at National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.

The statues are each ceremoniously draped with lei on Kamehameha Day — one of the first state holidays adopted by Hawai‘i following statehood in 1959 — to celebrate Hawai‘i’s greatest king, who new he was only the first to bring the Hawaiian people together.

“Continue the good that I have done for it is not yet finished,” said Kamehameha I.

News reporter Nathan Christophel contributed to this story.