This Renowned Week-Long Spring Festival In Hilo Honors Hawaiian Culture And Heritage

The island of Hawaii, aka the Big Island, is full of exciting things to do, including the annual Merrie Monarch Festival. Starting on Easter and running for a week; this year's event is from April 20 to 26. It's held in Hilo, an underrated and affordable tropical vacation destination on the northeastern side of the island, and the festival is all about celebrating Hawaiian heritage and honoring King David Kalākaua, the last king of Hawaii who was known as the Merrie Monarch. The event features hula competitions by some of the world's best practitioners as well as a massive parade, and a Hawaiian arts and crafts fair. It has an interesting history.

The festival started in 1964 to help boost the economy. In 1960, the island had been hit by a devastating tsunami that destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses. And when you add to that the continued decline of sugar plantations across Hawaii, people on the Big Island were looking for something to help bring in money since tourism wasn't the massive industry in Hawaii that it is now.

The festival nearly died out after just a few years, but in the 1970s, the Merrie Monarch Festival started featuring hula competitions, which drew in more visitors. This was also the time of the "Hawaiian Renaissance," when the unique cultural identity of Hawaiians was being increasingly embraced and traditions were being revitalized, according to the Merrie Monarch Festival.

The origins of the Merrie Monarch Festival at a time of Hawiian cultural revitalization echoes, in a way, what happened during the reign of King Kalākaua, who gives the festival its name. He ruled from 1874 to 1891, and he was known for his support and deep love of the Hawaiian language and arts. He played a particularly vital role in helping with a hula revival during his era. American missionaries in the 1800s believed that hula was immoral, and it was banned in public in 1830. King Kalākaua reversed that ruling when he became king.

He referred to hula as, "the language of the heart ... therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people," via University of Hawaii, and he featured it at his coronation celebration in 1883 and his 50th birthday party in 1886. Both events were held at 'Iolani Palace in Honolulu, the only royal palace in the U.S. You can visit the palace; it's one of the ways to experience historic Honolulu.

The 2025 Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo is primarily free, though you will need tickets for the three night hula competition, which includes both individuals and groups. If you don't have tickets, you can watch it live on the Merrie Monarch Festival website. Free activities include performances by local hula schools with a mix of both modern and ancient hula. The Royal Parade is on April 26 at 10:30 a.m. It runs through downtown Hilo, and it features a royal court, plenty of elaborate floats, marching bands, and lots of riders on horseback.

The Arts & Crafts Fair runs from April 23 to 26, and you can marvel at (and buy) the work of 150 different Hawaiian artists and creators. You can expect everything from jewelry to skincare to leis. There's also plenty of yummy food to enjoy; try some malasadas, Hawaii's iconic, Portuguese-inspired donuts.

If you're looking to explore more of the Big Island beyond the festival, Hilo is about a 40 minute drive from Volcano Village, a serene and artsy town that's the gateway to Volcanoes National Park, which is home to the world's largest active volcano, per the National Park Service. Hilo has an airport, just about 5 minutes from the festival site; however, this airport only has inter-island flights. Kona International Airport is where you'll get flights from the mainland to the Big Island; it's about a 90 minute drive from Hilo.