Entertainment

The Second Annual Hawai’i Mushroom Festival is just around the corner, offering a weekend full of agricultural education and community-building activities.

Although the initial motivation for the Merrie Monarch Festival was to boost the economy of Hawaiʻi island through tourism, this event has come to serve a far greater purpose, which is perpetuating Hawaiian culture.

The action isn’t just at the Edith Kanaka‘ole Multi-Purpose Stadium and Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium during Merrie Monarch Week on the Big Island. There are several other venues throughout Hilo and East Hawai‘i that will feature hula, music, arts and crafts, Hawaiian cultural events and other entertainment.

Get ready, world. The Merrie Monarch Festival returns next week with full regalia for the first time since 2019, and there’s just two days left until the celebration of hula and everything Hawaiian gets underway.

Whether searching for Easter eggs is your jam or maybe you would rather have someone else do the holiday cooking, there’s something for everyone. So don those new Easter clothes and hop on over to one or more of these “egg-citing” events.

Multiple media outlets, entertainment blogs and social media accounts report that Big Island resident Maia Keahola will play Lilo in the live-action adaptation of Disney’s 2002 animated film “Lilo & Stitch.”

The West Hawaiʻi County Band is performing its concerts at a new location, Honu’s On The Beach at the King Kamehameha Hotel.

The Kona Steel Guitar Festival is a new event developed to coincide with the relocation of Keola Beamer’s Aloha Music Camp from Kapa‘a on Kaua‘i to Keauhou.

The Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra will feature the highly celebrated violinist Sirena Huang for her first performance in Hawai‘i, playing Dvorák’s Violin Concerto.

The Hilo Education Arts Repertory Theatre is presenting “The Prom,” the outrageous and heart-warming musical comedy that was the recipient of seven Tony Award nominations.

The 22nd annual Kauikeaouli Festival, which commemorates the monarch’s birthday, is planned for March 17-18 at the Outrigger Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay in West Hawaiʻi on the Big Island, complete with a free ʻaha mele (concert) and cultural activities.

Ilima Shim, a mother of two who lives in Kapolei, O‘ahu, and grew up in Hōnaunau on the Big Island’s west side, finished in the top six of season four of the CBS reality TV competition show “Tough As Nails.”

Grammy award-winning Hawaiian icon John Cruz is releasing songs from the Kauaʻi-based musical “Hawaiian Heart,” with Taiana Tully and Bronson Varde.

Since its first edition in 2010, Ma‘ema‘e has evolved from a resource for media to a living toolkit for anyone who has a role in representing Hawai‘i.

Tickets for the non-competitive hula exhibition scheduled for Wednesday night, April 12, will be available in person from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., or until they are sold out, at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium box office in Hilo.

The legendary vocal quartet is celebrating its 50th anniversary and making its final world tour.

The Honoka‘a Business Association is excited to invite everyone back for the Mardi Gras festivities, food and fun. This faire la fête promises another grand time fit for the French Quarter.

Chocolate is a good bet if you’re looking for a Valentine’s Day gift for your sweetie. But why not give them an experience at the same time and take them on one of the many “chocolate farm” tours on the Big Island?

The Big island resort worker who is leading the attempt to break the Guiness World Record for longest fresh flower lei said he thought it was “bizarre” that the record was set in India and not Hawaiʻi.

The Wiliwili Festival on Feb. 11 is hosted by the Waikōloa Dry Forest Initiative and will feature informational booths, guided tours and self-guided hikes, food and beverages at the Waikōloa Dry Forest Preserve on the Big Island.