Photo: Courtesy of Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs

Prince Kūhiō Parade

Saturday, March 29, 5 p.m.

Celebrate the birthday of the People’s Prince by cheering on colorful floats, trolleys, marching bands and equestrian groups as they march through Kapolei. The parade ends at Ka Makana Ali‘i’s center stage with a free concert, food and crafts vendors.

Family-friendly, free, route along Kapolei Pkwy. from Kapolei Hale to Ka Makana Ali‘i, aohcc.org, @hawaiiancivicclubs

SEE ALSO: Your Insider Guide to Keiki Street Festival

Image: Courtesy of Maui Public Arts Corps

Hui Mo‘olelo: Lāhainā Film Festival

Thursday, March 27, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

For the first time, this annual Maui-based film showcase is making its way to O‘ahu. See five animated shorts that celebrate Lāhainā’s rich history, culture and sense of place. Each piece is inspired by talk-story excerpts from Lāhainā residents, highlighting personal memories and historical narratives that have been passed down through generations. You’ll also be able to engage with the filmmakers and storytellers during a live Q&A session.

RSVP

Free, Waiwai Collective, 1110 University Ave., mauipublicart.org, @mauipublicart

SEE ALSO: ‘Ōpio Fest is HIFF’s New Signature Spring Showcase—and Tickets Are On Sale Now

Photo: Courtesy of Pacific Expos

FoodieCon & Spring Expo

Saturday, March 29, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Sunday, March 30, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Come hungry and taste your way through more than 200 booths selling everything from treats and snacks to noodles and skewers. All food vendors will offer a $7 plate option, meaning you can try a few without breaking the bank.

Family-friendly, $6 general admission, $4 senior and military admission, free for keiki 12 and under, Neal S. Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall, 777 Ward Ave., pacificexpos.com, @pacificexposhawaii

SEE ALSO: Your Insider Guide to the Hawai‘i Triennial

Photos: Courtesy of Susanna Moore

Book Reading and Signing with Susanna Moore

Saturday, March 29, 2 to 4 p.m.

Jump on this rare chance to meet author Susanna Moore as she returns home to Hawai‘i for this special event. Hear passages from her memoir and other recent works, including The Lost Wife—a novel praised in HONOLULU Magazine’s inaugural HONOLULU Book Awards—listen to a talk-story session and get copies of the books signed.

RSVP

Free, Da Shop: Books + Curiosities, 3565 Harding Ave., dashophnl.com, @dashophnl

SEE ALSO: Feed Your Artistic Appetite With Fishschool Classes

Mayor’s Town Hall Meetings

Thursday, March 27, through Thursday, June 5

It’s your chance to be heard! Mayor Rick Blangiardi is making his rounds to neighborhoods across O‘ahu to meet you face-to-face and find out what matters to you most. The town hall meetings kick off in Nānākuli and continue at six more locations through June 5:

• Thursday, March 27, 7 to 9 p.m., Kalaniana‘ole Beach Park, Nānākuli
• Thursday, April 10, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Historic Hale‘iwa Gym
• Thursday, April 24, 7 to 9 p.m., Mililani High School, Mililani
• Thursday, May 1, 7 to 9 p.m., Kahuku High School, Kahuku
• Thursday, May 8, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Castle High School, Kāne‘ohe
• Thursday, May 22, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Radford High School, Salt Lake
• Thursday, June 5, 7 to 9 p.m., Kalani High School, East O‘ahu

Free, www8.honolulu.gov, @mayorrickhnl

Available Services

• Emergency ambulance, fire, lifeguard, medical examiner and police services will be available.
• TheBus will operate on a state holiday schedule. Visit thebus.org for routes and other information.
• Skyline will operate on a holiday schedule from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit honolulu.gov/skyline for rider information.
• Parks, municipal golf courses, botanical gardens and the Honolulu Zoo will be open.
• Refuse will be collected.
• Transfer stations, convenience centers, H-POWER and the Waimānalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill will be open. Visit envhonolulu.org for more information.

SEE ALSO: 9 Things You Didn’t Know About Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole

Closed or Canceled

• The Neal S. Blaisdell Center box office will be closed.
• The People’s Open Markets will not be held.
• All satellite city halls and driver licensing centers will be closed.
• Hawai‘i State Public Library branches will be closed. See the holiday schedule here.

Traffic and Parking

• On-street parking will be free, except for the meters on Kalākaua Avenue along Queen Kapi‘olani Park, metered parking lots and meters on certain Waikīkī streets.
• Traffic lanes will not be coned for contraflow.

SEE ALSO: The History of Hawai‘i From Our Files: The Funeral of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole

The art and science of wayfinding has a rich and meaningful place not only in Hawai‘i’s history, but also in cultures throughout Oceania. Long before the advent of modern GPS, the people across the Pacific Islands relied on their study of the stars, sun, waves and other natural indications to navigate the open seas. In an effort to reclaim and perpetuate traditional knowledge for future generations, Hōkūle‘a was launched from the sacred shores of Hakipu‘u-Kualoa on March 8, 1975. Over the last 50 years, she has sailed more than 140,000 nautical miles across the Pacific while completing 15 deep-sea voyages.

More than just a milestone birthday for Hōkūle‘a, the forthcoming 50th is also a celebration of the wayfinding history and legacy that unites the Pacific peoples and a call to action for the future of environmental stewardship. In launching their vision, the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) ushers forth a renewed focus on “protecting the earth’s oceans, fostering indigenous knowledge, and inspiring the next generation to embrace the values of Mālama Honua.”

In the spirit of voyaging for a better future, we’re proud to highlight these adult and children’s books that connect cultures and people from across the Pacific to celebrate the tradition of wayfinding.

SEE ALSO: Hōkūle‘a’s 50th Anniversary

Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities

Mālama Honua

by Jennifer Allen

A stunning collection of photographs, narrative, and voices, Mālama Honua is a comprehensive account of Hōkūle‘a’s 2014 Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, a 42,000-mile open-ocean journey around the world using only ancient Polynesian wayfinding techniques. Here, we hear from the navigators themselves, along with the scientists, educators, and even children who’ve been touched by Hōkūle‘a and engaged in championing its mission to raise awareness of and nurture worldwide sustainability.

Canoes of Oceania

by Alfred C. Haddon / Haddon & Hornell

Originally published as a trilogy in 1936 and 1938, Canoes of Oceania is a classic work that’s now widely regarded as an encyclopedic source of information about the ocean-going vessels of the Pacific. It’s believed that founders of the Polynesian Voyaging Society had consulted this text in their early days, spending hours in the Bishop Museum Archives where Canoes of Oceania first emerged. Intensively researched and thoughtfully compiled, Canoes of Oceania is a necessary and invaluable work.

Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities

Reawakened: Traditional Navigators of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa

by Jeff Evans

Reawakened features interviews with 10 master navigators from Aotearoa New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Hawai‘i, all of whom were trained under Mau Piailug, Micronesian master navigator from the island of Satawal. While each navigator offers their own unique stories, braided throughout the book is the joyful renaissance of tradition and ancestral knowledge around Pacific voyaging, recalling for readers the shared heart that beats behind this vital practice.

Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities

Eddie Wen’ Go: The Story of the Upside-Down Canoe

by Marion Lyman-Mersereau

To introduce young readers to the legacy of Hōkūle‘a, we recommend Eddie Wen’ Go, a moving and inspirational tale of courage at sea. In this heartwarming picture book, author and Hōkūle‘a crewmember Marion Lyman-Mersereau imagines a continuation of beloved waterman Eddie Aikau’s paddling mission through the perspective of the creatures in the sea and the sky who were present in the water on that fateful day. Through eye-catching illustrations and an unforgettable story penned by Lyman-Mersereau, little readers will come to understand a vital part of Hawai‘i’s history.

Photo: Courtesy of Da Shop: Books + Curiosities

Pathway of the Birds: The Voyaging Achievements of Māori and Their Polynesian Ancestors

by Andrew Crowe

Lauded for its extensive research comprising over 400 maps, diagrams, photographs, and illustrations, Pathway of the Birds is a major scholarly work investigating the history of voyaging throughout Polynesia with a focus on Māori navigators. Grounding the book is a compelling story of migration and human ingenuity that’s written for audiences both general and scholarly. This is a wonderful book for readers of all interests.

To learn more about the 50th birthday of Hōkūle‘a and to follow along with her continuing journey, visit hokulea.com.

Da Shop: Books + Curiosities, 3565 Harding Ave., open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., (808) 421-9460, dashophnl.com, @dashophnl

Photo: Brad Goda

One of your priorities has been to address homelessness and housing security by investing in affordable housing. How will you approach this issue at the legislative level?

Even our newly constructed affordable housing is unaffordable. We need more rental subsidies to keep people housed. My vacant home surcharge bill will raise the needed funds by collecting the general excise tax revenue that would have been collected had that home been rented and occupied by residents.

… I’ve also introduced a bill to help kūpuna with home equity stay housed. It’s inspired by an existing federal HUD program. Many retirees cannot keep up with exorbitant cost increases in maintenance fees, assessments and property insurance. My bill would authorize the [Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corp.] to step in to cover those unexpected costs and keep kūpuna housed, ideally in their own home.

Condo owners have been passing down to renters astronomical costs related to insurance premium increases. How do you plan to keep such a condo-heavy district affordable for locals?

My previous landlord had to raise my rent for that reason, so I moved into a more affordable building with less amenities. One of my bills directs the insurance commissioner to create standards for three new insurance models: self-insurance, mutual insurance, and what I’m terming building life insurance, or a life insurance policy for a building.

When premiums and deductibles skyrocket, many businesses consider self-insuring, and when they do decide to self-insure, they are now incentivized to invest in practices and policies that minimize risk.

Mutual insurance is really a hui of self-insured buildings offering each other backup. So if you’re in this hui you’re going to pick hui partners that are as financially healthy as your own building.

And then finally, there’s building life insurance, which would be ideal for new construction and would be a long-term insurance contract, kind of like life insurance, that would lock in premiums for the life of the building, as long as the preset maintenance schedule and safeguards are followed.

SEE ALSO: Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s Playbook

What do you hope to accomplish by the end of the session?

I introduced six bills that will increase [government] transparency, accountability and ethics. One is legislative term limits, so not more than 16 years. No. 2 is remove the Legislature’s exemption from the Sunshine Law. No. 3 is to restore the legislators’ compliance with ethics laws that apply to all other state employees. No. 4, candidate campaign funds should not be allowed to carry over indefinitely, resulting in million-dollar war chests. No. 5 prohibits campaign donations from state and county contractors, grantees and lessees, their owners, officers, consultants and subcontractors and anyone sharing a joint account with any one of them.

And then finally, increased standards and transparency when leasing public lands. And that mostly applies to the governor, so he’s not allowed to just sign over leases willy-nilly to a really bad tenant from the past. … Even if none of these bills pass, we learn so much about legislative leaders when they kill these kinds of bills.

votekimcoco.com, @repkimcocoiwamoto

Photo: Courtesy of Mananalu Powered by Boomerang Water

The battle against single-use plastic water bottles has gained significant momentum with technology fostering the use of recycled aluminum water bottles at several Hawai‘i hotels and Kamehameha Schools Kapālama.

What’s pushed the aluminum bottles into the spotlight?

Call it big-time star power. Hawai‘i-born actor Jason Momoa, who plays Aquaman, owns Mananalu Water and has partnered with Boomerang, a North Carolina-based reuse company, to roll out a high-tech machine that can be stationed at sites to sanitize and fill aluminum bottles with his water.

Standing racks for guests to place empty bottles have been strategically placed at several hotels, including The Twin Fin, Romer House Waikīkī, ‘Alohilani Resort Waikīkī Beach, Four Seasons Resort Hualālai, Four Seasons Resort Lāna‘i and Four Seasons Resort Ko Olina.

SEE ALSO: Our 5 Favorite Hawai‘i Shops for Eco-Friendly and Zero-Waste Products

Momoa and his business partners expect more hotels, visitor destinations and schools to come aboard soon. Eventually, they want to usher in a new norm, where people return water bottles for reuse instead of disposing of them.

“I originally launched Mananalu to challenge the drinking water industry to shift away from single-use plastic bottles that are destroying the health of people and the planet,” Momoa said at a January press event at The Twin Fin. “This technology is a game-changer, and I’m honored to be able to bring it to Hawai‘i first … to help restore the local ecosystem.”

Photo: Courtesy of Mananalu Powered by Boomerang Water

If guests in each of the 50,000 or so hotel rooms in Hawai‘i drank from just two water bottles a day, that’s 100,000 bottles a day—a staggering waste, according to Boomerang’s Jason Dibble and Jerrod Freund. And not only do plastic bottles fill up landfills, transporting them is costly to the environment, too.

As people become more mindful of their carbon footprints, “You’ll find that people want to do the right thing and return” the bottles, Dibble says. He adds that about 95% of bottles are returned at sites where the machines are stationed around the country.

Illustration: Christine Labrador

It’s been a continuous season of change for Downtown and Chinatown, with new hotels, renovated commercial and office spaces, and other projects attempting to bring life back to Honolulu’s urban core.

A third of 15 upcoming projects we mentioned in our December 2022 issue focused on affordable housing, with four of them now open.

SEE ALSO: Reviving Downtown and Chinatown

Photo: The Michaels Organization

Halewai‘olu Senior Residences

One- and two-bedroom units for ages 55 and up start at $1,303/month. Residents must make between 60% and 80% of the AMI. Opened in September 2023.

1331 River St., liveathsr.com

Photo: The Michaels Organization

Kōkua Hale

Affordable apartments for ages 55 and older opened in October 2023. Rent is $1,310/month for studios 255 to 368 square feet, with maximum income limits starting at $58,500 for a single person.

1192 Alakea St., liveatkokuahale.com

Photo: Courtesy of 1060 Bishop

1060 Bishop

Offices were converted to studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments for those making 80% or less of the AMI ($78,000 for a single person). Rent starts at $1,950/month for a studio. Occupancy began in September 2024.

1060 Bishop St., 1060bishop.com

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Hocking Building

The historic Hocking Building was built as a hotel in 1914 before becoming a commercial space. Opened in November 2024, the revamped affordable housing project offers studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments for those earning 30% to 50% of the area median income. Rent starts at $600/month for a studio.

1010 Nu‘uanu Ave., hockingbuilding.com

Photo: Courtesy of EAH Housing

Unlike urban Honolulu, new developments are few and far between in Central O‘ahu. So, when a fresh build hits the skyline, we take notice.

Seated on the 3.45-acre site of the former ‘Aiea Sugar Mill, Aloha Iā Halewilikō is a $62 million project from nonprofit developer EAH Housing, planned for completion in October. An affordable rental community for seniors age 62 and older, the three-story building includes 83 studios and 56 one-bedroom apartments; some of those units will be designated for households at or below 30%, 50% and 60% of the area median income. Along with elevator service, a multipurpose room, tech lounge and fitness room, Aloha Iā Halewilikō will also feature outdoor gathering spaces, gardens and a dog park. An on-site resource coordinator will facilitate gatherings, educational courses, wellness activities and health care services. EAH is also partnering with Lanakila Pacific to provide meal distribution.

eahhousing.org, @eah.housing

SEE ALSO: O‘ahu’s Great Neighborhoods

Photo: Courtesy of EAH Housing

Taking shape on a 3.11-acre site in lower Hālawa, across the highway from the USS Arizona Memorial, the $168.1 million Hālawa View II development is slated for completion this summer. Born from a partnership between the state of Hawai‘i, the City and County of Honolulu and California-based Pacific Development Group, the 18-story, 302-unit building will offer one-, two- and four-bedroom rental units.

The new build is phase two of the Hālawa View Apartments project. In phase one, a 1970s Hālawa high-rise was remodeled in 2014; it’s easily recognizable for its 14-story mural by local artist Kamea Hadar. Along with barbecue and picnic areas, amenities will include a fitness center, sky lounge, study lounge and kids club. Select units will be reserved for households earning up to 30%, 40%, 50% and 60% of the area median income, with five units designated for chronically homeless individuals or those receiving public support services.

pacificdg.com, @pacificdevgroup

In high school, my then-boyfriend, from ‘Aiea, drove us to Mililani for a “country” adventure. At a restaurant filled with locals, he mused, “These people think I’m a townie. That means they think you’re a super high-class townie.”

I never gave much thought to what areas of Honolulu are actually “town.” I was born and raised in upper Liliha, went to McKinley High School, and worked most of my career in the area spanning Downtown to Ala Moana. I’m a lifelong, bona fide townie.

The designation of “townie” used to be defined not just by our neighborhood, but how we dressed and talked. If your clothes were from Liberty House, San Francisco Rag Shop and Kramer’s (yes, I’m dating myself), you were “town” because you shopped at Ala Moana Center. At the cool nightclubs—all in town—we wore even trendier clothes, from Ala Moana.

Original image: DigitalVision Vectors, composite: James Nakamura

This is a contentious topic among many people I know.

Fast forward to 2025, and O‘ahu’s landscape has changed. Kapolei is now considered a “second city,” and some of my high school friends have moved there for more affordable housing. Instead of having to head east on the H-1, West and Central O‘ahu now have their own hip restaurants, stores and businesses.

But town is still town. When I joked with my expat friends that they had turned in their townie cards, some were visibly offended. So that got me thinking: Within what borders do you need to live to be considered a townie? This is a contentious topic among many people I know. To answer the question, I asked those who, in my mind, would have a legitimate opinion: my high school friends, or other townies like me.

After lengthy discussions, we agreed that the area from the outer edges of Kalihi to Kāhala are the boundaries. Yes, this may shock those of you who live in ‘Āina Haina or Moanalua. There’s no term for people from these outer areas, so I decided to research definitions.

SEE ALSO: O‘ahu’s Great Neighborhoods

Townies are from the “urban core,” which I Googled and received results defining it as a densely populated central area of a city, with a downtown, that serves as a shopping, dining and entertainment hub. For me, Honolulu’s urban core encompasses Kalihi (up to the populated area of Likelike Highway), Downtown, Nu‘uanu (up to the populated area of Pali Highway), Kaka‘ako, Ala Moana, Waikīkī, Makiki Heights, Mānoa, Kaimukī and Kāhala.

Suburbs, meanwhile, would be right outside a city or town.

So there ya go. But what about people who live a step beyond the outskirts of town, but do everything in town, including their work? One classmate offered this spin: “If I lived in Kahuku but did everything in town, that wouldn’t make me a townie because you need to reside there.”

Don’t bother asking non-townies for boundaries. I asked my country friends, and many said town was any area in O‘ahu with a ZIP code that starts with 968. My own niece, a lifelong Mililani resident, thought Kailua was part of town. My high school friends who are still townies thought it was an amusing topic, but they didn’t get fired up like those now defined as “not from town.”

“Hey girls,” my friend, Cathy, a townie, texted. “You know you’re kūpuna when you spend your Saturday night trying to figure out what town is. I hope you’re on your way out to enjoy a beer or a glass of wine somewhere fun.”

And that, I thought, was the stance of a true townie. We’re not worked up about the definition because we already know what we are. If you’ve made it this far without getting upset, know that I’m raising a glass to you from one of the new, trendy bars in town.

This year, as Hōkūle‘a commemorates the milestone, it sails as a proud symbol of Polynesian navigation on a continuing journey that’s helped spark a Hawaiian renaissance in culture, music and language. Back in 1975, the scrappy replica of a traditional voyaging canoe struggled through skepticism and squabbles before proving that celestial navigation—without the aid of modern instruments—could guide crews across oceans and around the world. During its three-year Mālama Honua journey that started in 2014, crew members visited 150 ports in more than 18 countries. Join the celebrations at hokulea.com.

Wāhine Wayfinders  |  Events  |  Hōkūle‘a Timeline

SEE ALSO: Your Insider Guide to Hōkūle‘a’s 50^th Birthday Celebration

Lehua Kamalu. Photo: Polynesian Voyaging Society/Jonathan (Sav) Salvador

Wāhine Wayfinders

While steering Hōkūle‘a miles from shore, navigator Lehua Kamalu relies on the sea and sky rather than GPS and satellites. “It’s really hard for anything else actually to penetrate into your focus because you just are constantly looking at the ocean, looking at the waves, looking at the sky, taking every possible clue and cue that’s out there,” she says. “They’re all trying to tell you what’s going on, where you are, and you’re really trying to make sense of it all.”

Kamalu, a captain with the Polynesian Voyaging Society, grew up speaking Hawaiian, immersed in cultural learning at Ke Kula Kaiapuni ‘o Pu‘ohala in Kāne‘ohe. Now 38, her first encounter with the canoe was during a field trip as a student there before she transferred to Kamehameha Schools. After receiving her mechanical engineering degree, she landed full time with PVS in 2013 and underwent extensive training with veteran voyagers.

For Hōkūle‘a’s worldwide voyage, she coordinated logistics. She believes the widely publicized voyage showcased Native Hawaiian culture and linked Hawai‘i more deeply to the rest of the world. “I think we’ve come to a place of really embracing that much larger global community, allowing Hōkūle‘a to be this connecting point between Hawai‘i, its place and its people and everything that it represents to the wider world,” says Kamalu, who was interviewed in Tahiti, where she’s planning future journeys.

Master navigator and PVS CEO Nainoa Thompson estimates that about 650 crew members have served on Hōkūle‘a over the past 50 years, including about 60 navigators. He sailed with the first two female crew members, Keani Reiner and Penny Rawlins, from Tahiti in 1976. He now estimates that the number of female crew members has grown to roughly 1 in 3.

Thompson says PVS has always functioned as a values-based organization with women playing critical roles. “Women are very focused; they’re disciplined,” he says. “And they come to the training with an open mind, open heart.”

Kayla Kalepa. Photo: Polynesian Voyaging Society/Perrin James

Crew member Kayla Kalepa, 19, is among the youngest aboard. She grew up around the canoe because of her father, renowned Maui lifeguard captain and waterman Archie Kalepa. “When I was little, I didn’t understand why my dad was sailing around the world,” she says. “When I turned 14, that’s when I started sailing, because my dad built his own canoe, a 30-foot replica of Hōkūle‘a, and after that, I was hooked.”

Kai Hoshijo. Photo: Polynesian Voyaging Society/Jonathan (Sav) Salvador

Meanwhile, having sailed on Hōkūle‘a to Tahiti in 2022, Kai Hoshijo, 27, appreciates the life skills of training at sea. “We’re going to be resourceful and flexible and resilient based on what our voyage might be, whether it be a task or a job, and there’s huge value in that,” she says.

Events

March 8, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.

Hōkūle‘a’s 50^th Birthday Commemoration will be celebrated at the 16^th Annual Kualoa/Hakipu‘u Canoe Festival at Kualoa Regional Park. In partnership with the City and County Department of Parks and Recreation, this free, family-friendly event will take place where the canoe was first assembled, blessed and entered the ocean.

March 10, 3–6 p.m.

Hōkūle‘a will offer dockside canoe tours at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. The public is invited to step aboard Hōkūle‘a and hear from young crew members and navigators training to for the next chapters of the Moananuiākea Voyage.

March 14, 5–9 p.m.

Hōkūle‘a’s 50^th Birthday: E Ola Mau, Bishop Museum

Bishop Museum will host an after-hours event honoring Hōkūle‘a’s 50^th. As a pivotal partner in Hōkūle‘a’s inception, the museum will host this tribute to the canoe’s origins and legacy with special exhibits and programming dedicated to the history of traditional Polynesian voyaging.

Hōkūle‘a Timeline

1973: The Polynesian Voyaging Society is founded by artist Herb Kawainui Kāne, anthropologist Ben Finney and waterman Tommy Holmes.

March 8, 1975: The society launches Hōkūle‘a for the first time, from Hakipu‘u, Kualoa, O‘ahu.

1976: Hōkūle‘a sails to Tahiti and back for the first traditional deep-ocean voyage from Hawai‘i in 600 years.

1980: Nainoa Thompson navigates Hōkūle‘a to Tahiti and back, making him the first Native Hawaiian since the 14^th century to complete a voyage using only traditional wayfinding techniques.

1985: Hōkūle‘a voyages to New Zealand, venturing outside of tropical waters for the first time.

1992: Hōkūle‘a sails to Rarotonga, while 30,000 students connect and talk with navigators aboard Hōkūle‘a and astronauts on the Columbia Space Shuttle.

1995: Hōkūle‘a and Hawai‘iloa travel to Seattle with Hawai‘iloa heading to Alaska to thank the Tlingit, Haida and Tshimshian tribes for donating two Sitka spruce logs for the Hawai‘iloa hulls and Hōkūle‘a sailing down the West Coast for the first time.

1999: Hōkūle‘a sails to Rapa Nui, successfully visiting the three outer corners of the Polynesian Triangle.

2004: Hōkūle‘a sails to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

2007: Hōkūle‘a sails to Japan and Mau Piailug’s home island of Satawal in Micronesia.

2007: Five Hawaiian navigators are initiated into the navigator rank of Pwo, a ceremony initiated by navigator Mau Piailug. The five are Nainoa Thompson, Shorty Bertelmann, Onohi Paishon, Bruce Blankenfeld and Kalepa Baybayan.

2013–2017: The Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage takes Hōkūle‘a across the globe to 18 countries and 150 ports.

2023: Hōkūle‘a begins the Moananuiākea Voyage from Alaska.  This is the 15^th major voyage in the canoe’s first 50 years.