Every Wednesday, one of our awesome HPR besties will keep you posted on happenings across our Islands that we're most stoked about. While each of us has a different perspective and set of interests, we all share a goal of helping you stay curious and connected across our Hawaiian Islands. Not yet subscribed? Subscribe today to see what's on around town, and to learn about our Social Club contributors.
This week, we hear from HPR Digital Content Producer Sylvia Flores.
HPR's Social Club — it's your guide to unique, can't-miss events across the islands. Sign up for the HPR Social Club.
Have an event to share? You can submit it to our HPR Community Calendar for consideration. We might feature it in a future newsletter or on the air!
Mabuhay!
October already? Q4? Three months to go until year-end? How did that happen? October is always a busy month, chock-full of events, especially with All Hallow's Eve and related festivities on the horizon.
A reminder: October is Pride Month in Honolulu! This weekend, the Hawaiʻi LGBT Legacy Foundation hosts Pride 2026: Hoʻomau, a celebration of queer resilience, unity and perseverance in the heart of Waikīkī. Check out your guide to Pride, which culminates with the Pride Parade & Festival on Saturday, Oct. 17 in Waikīkī.
I very much enjoy October because it's officially Filipino American History Month, when our Fil-Am Kababayan honor the contributions, culture and legacy of Filipinos in the United States. Here are a few ways to celebrate and connect with your Filipino friends here on Oʻahu:
Kain tayo (let's eat) with Filipino Food Week, ongoing through Oct. 18. This year, the theme is Suka, or Filipino vinegar, a staple in many Filipino dishes (a key ingredient in adobo and also in my favorite dish, diniguan). Savor the tastes of the Philippines while supporting local. Follow @filipinofoodweekhawaii on Instagram to find participating restaurants (including a few on Maui and American Samoa).
On Oct. 17, Maluhia Massage hosts an afternoon of Filipino Community healing with cultural practices. A group of practitioners will offer spiritual guidance, elemental analysis, Babayin Tarot and cleansing and cord cutting. It's open to the public on a walk-in, first-come, first-served basis, from 1 to 5 p.m.
On Oct. 18, head to Harbor's Vintage for Juice Ko Po? from 5 to 9 p.m., featuring an all-queer Filipinx lineup of food and drink, vintage clothing, art vendors and more, with live open mic karaoke and a DJ.
On your own time, enjoy these exhibits featuring local Filipino artists. Visit the Tabi Tabi Po Art Exhibition, curated by @modernenchantment, on view through Oct. 31 at Small Space Studios inside Harbor's Vintage. In Chinatown, Minasa Hawaiʻi presents the Halo Halo art exhibition on view through Oct. 24, in collaboration with Downtown Art Center.
For our Maui Nui readers, celebrate Filipino American History Month at the Molokaʻi Library this evening from 5 to 7 p.m. Enjoy refreshments and explore a special exhibit honoring the contributions of Molokaʻi's Filipino community.
Keep scrolling for HPR Social Club's event picks for this upcoming weekend. If you have an event you'd like to share with the Social Club team, submit it to the HPR community calendar. We might feature it in a future newsletter.
Salamat, po, for reading!
Sylvia
P.S. Election Day is a few weeks away. Keep an eye out for your ballots; they'll be arriving any day now if they haven't already. HPR's Audrey McAvoy is sharing voting explainers leading up to Hawaiʻi's General Election Day on Nov. 3
HPR Social Club's Picks of the Week:
Please note: Event details may change.
Check organizer or event websites for the most up-to-date information.
OʻAHU: A ROYAL BIRTHDAY
Celebrate Princess Ka‘iulani’s 151st Birthday
OUTRIGGER Waikīkī Paradise Hotel
150 Ka‘iulani Ave. in Honolulu
Friday, October 16, 5 to 9 p.m.
Honor the legacy of Princess Ka‘iulani on her 151st birthday with The Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors/Māmakakaua, ʻAhahui Ka‘iulani, Royal Order of Kamehameha I and Hale O Nā Ali‘i O Hawai‘i. The evening begins with a traditional lei draping ceremony at Ka‘iulani Triangle Park, followed by performances by Taimane and Ei Nei along with Irie Love, spoken word by Hawaiʻi's first Poet Laureate Kealoha and a curated marketplace presented by Art + Flea. Free to attend
OʻAHU: SHOP KAUAʻI
Art + Flea at Island Pulse
Capitol Modern: Hawaiʻi State Art Museum
250 South Hotel St. in Honolulu
Friday, October 16, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
At this special edition of Island Pulse, presented by Mundo Reggae, Kauaʻi makers, artists, designers and small business owners are coming to Oʻahu to participate in Art + Flea at Capital Modern. Organizer Aly Ishikuni has generously offered to host the group of Kauaʻi creatives as her vendors for the night. Creative offerings range from clothing designers, jewelry artists, illustrators, printmakers, painters and even a vintage reseller. Free to attend
KAUAʻI: SURF'S UP
SURFILMUSIC
KCC Performing Arts Center
3-1901 Kaumualiʻi Hwy in Līhuʻe
Thursday, October 22, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
The Kauaʻi High Surf Team and Kauaʻi Community College present a special screening of Jack Johnson's new film, SURFILMUSIC. Blending rare footage from those formative surf films and Johnson's personal and family archives with present-day reflections, the film weaves together how lived experience, friendship and exploration shaped the sound and stories behind the music. Proceeds from this special event will benefit the surf team, helping support student-athletes throughout the upcoming surf season. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. $10 tickets; available online
HAWAIʻI ISLAND: A CAPELLA CONCERT
Voci Waimea: Shakespeare Ere Modern
Church of the Holy Cross
440 W. Lanikaula St. in Hilo
Friday, October 16, 7 to 8:15 p.m.
The Kamaʻāina Concert Series presents the premiere of Voci Waimea, Hawaii's newest a cappella vocal group, presenting Shakespeare Ere Modern. The program includes contemporary English-language choral works by living composers, beginning with poetic Shakespeare settings that range from playful and romantic to mysterious and eerie. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. A suggested $20 donation is welcome. Free to attend
MAUI: STEEL SOUNDS
15th Annual Maui Steel Guitar Festival
The Shops at Wailea
375 Wailea Alanui Dr. in Wailea
Saturday, October 17, 3 to 6:30 p.m.
Several steel guitar masters from O‘ahu and Maui and NextGEN steel guitarists head to Wailea to showcase the steel guitar. The Hoʻolauleʻa Pageant Program features performances by Hawaiian Steel Guitar Masters including Alan Akaka, Bobby Ingano, Ross Kaʻaʻaʻ, Geri Valdriz and more. The fest also includes a hands-on experience table for guests interested in learning more about and trying out the Hawaiian steel guitar under the guidance of a steel guitar professional. Free to attend
Live from the Atherton
Celebrate 808 brings artists across genres into our Atherton Studio in Honolulu for intimate live performances that showcase the diversity, creativity and community of music being made across the islands.
Discover a new favorite, celebrate the artists you love and experience the sound of the 808 — Live from the Atherton.
- November 7 @ 6 p.m.: Honeyfingers
A longtime fixture of New York’s music scene, Jonny has built a career around his extraordinary touch, tone, and deep devotion to the music. His band Honeyfingers was a New York fixture, earning a New York Times description that says it all: “Pristine honky tonk.” GET TICKETS
- November 14 @ 6 p.m.: Maryanne Ito
From Soul and R&B to Jazz, Hip-Hop and Reggae, Maryanne Ito brings a uniquely Hawaiʻi-rooted sound to the Atherton, pairing a rich, textured voice with music that explores love, life and the everyday experiences that connect us all. GET TICKETS
- November 21 @ 6 p.m.: Skullboy + Completely Insane
Local party-punk favorites Skullboy take the stage, joined by Completely Insane, local legends of the genre and longtime contributors to Hawaiʻi’s punk scene at this standing-room event. GET TICKETS
ICYMI: First Filipina honored with Hollywood Walk of Fame star heads to Honolulu
Ever since Lea Salonga left her native Philippines, she's been thrilling audiences on stage and screen. In 1991, she made history as the first Asian actress to win a Tony Award in a musical, playing Kim in “Miss Saigon.”
Last month, when Salonga was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she reflected on her journey. "When I began my career, I didn't see many people who looked like me doing the things I dreamed of doing on the world's biggest stages and screens… And over the years, I have watched that world begin to change. Not enough, not completely, but it has changed. There are so many extraordinary Filipino and Asian artists working today," she said.
Lea Salonga is now starring as the voice of the villain in “Forgotten Island,” a DreamWorks Animation film rooted in Filipino folklore. She also sang on the soundtrack. This weekend she will perform live with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra. Learn more and listen on demand
