Four headline tastings at the 2026 Hawaii Food & Wine Festival show sold-out general admission on their official pages as of September 24: Smoked, Shucked & Cured on Hawaiʻi Island, Caviar, Pearls & Aphrodisiacs on Maui, 24K Magic, and The Greatest Hits on Oʻahu. The Maui tasting marks every tier sold out, including VIP, and directs guests to a waitlist. Wait for admission confirmation before making nonrefundable plans around that evening.

The festival calls 2026 its sixteenth annual run. It spans three islands and brings chefs and producers from Hawaiʻi and beyond into one fall calendar. Each participating chef must feature at least one Hawaiʻi-grown, raised, or caught ingredient, according to the festival's official history.

Here is the 2026 layout, the ticket picture by island, and the lodging and transportation choices that follow from each venue.

The festival spreads across three weekends and three islands, running from October 16 to November 8, 2026. Each island gets its own weekend, so you can choose the one that fits your trip rather than chase all three.

Hawaiʻi Island (Big Island) opens the festival on October 16–17. Kāʻanapali, Maui takes October 23–25. Oʻahu closes it out November 5–8.

Those are the official festival windows as of September 24, 2026. The current schedule lists the event names, dates, times, and venues for all three weekends. Check the official schedule before booking flights. If you are weighing fall against other seasons, our best time to visit Hawaii guide covers what late October and early November feel like on the ground.

Hawaiʻi Island, October 16–17: The program stays on the Kohala Coast. The Cuisines of the Sun Golf Classic is at Mauna Kea Golf Course on Friday, followed by Smoked, Shucked & Cured at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on Saturday night. Smoked, Shucked & Cured marks general admission and First Hawaiian Bank Preferred Access sold out. Priority and VIP tiers remain displayed, with VIP-table inquiries directed to the organizer.

Maui, October 23–25: Caviar, Pearls & Aphrodisiacs at Sheraton Maui marks general admission, Preferred Access, Priority, and VIP sold out. Its waitlist may be worth joining, but keep your plans flexible until you have admission. For a different Maui event, the No EGGScuses brunch at Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows lists October 25, 11 a.m.–1 p.m., and $150 general admission before applicable tax as of September 24. Both events are in the Kāʻanapali resort area. Compare a nearby stay with the cost and logistics of commuting from your existing base.

Oʻahu, November 5–8: 24K Magic at ʻAlohilani Resort Waikiki Beach marks general admission sold out. Preferred Access and Priority remain displayed, and VIP-cabana inquiries go to the organizer. The Greatest Hits at Kapiʻolani Community College marks both general admission and First Hawaiian Bank Preferred Access sold out. Priority and VIP tiers remain displayed, with VIP-table inquiries directed to the organizer.

Oʻahu’s program includes a summit, grand tastings, brunch, and a seated dinner. The schedule runs from the FEAST Summit and Culture in AgriCULTURE at Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi to The Breakfast Club and BTS: Beyond the Seoul. Venues stretch from Waikīkī and Kapiʻolani Community College to windward Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi. Pick your hotel and transportation around the event venue, not just the island.

These event names, dates, and venues come from the festival's current 2026 schedule. Recheck each event’s listing before travel.

Festival events have separate ticket pages and distinct tiers. Check the schedule and each event page for any pass or package options before buying. A sold-out general-admission tier does not always mean every tier is gone, but a displayed price or inquiry option does not establish remaining inventory.

Treat this as a dated planning snapshot. Open the individual event page, confirm the exact tier, and finish checkout before you book flights or lodging around it. The festival's current FAQ states that sales are final and that events, prices, performances, venues, dates, and times may change without notice.

The 24K Magic ticket page says Preferred Access requires an eligible First Hawaiian Bank personal or small-business debit or credit card. Corporate cards do not qualify, according to the festival's FAQ.

Most festival events are restricted to guests age 21 and older unless an event says otherwise. Bring the valid government-issued photo ID specified in the festival's current FAQ.

The festival's about page says the full run spans three weekends across three islands, with chefs, culinary personalities, sommeliers, mixologists, wine and spirit producers, and industry leaders appearing across the program. Check each individual event listing before buying if a particular chef, winemaker, or format matters to you.

The program mixes grand tastings, seated dinners, educational seminars, and interactive culinary experiences. Details vary by event. For example, BTS: Beyond the Seoul is listed as a seated five-course wine-paired dinner. FEAST Summit takes a different route, with business, hospitality, and leadership sessions. Read the listing before buying. The event name tells you far less than the format, venue, and start time.

It is a fundraiser underneath the glamour. The festival is a program of the Hawaiʻi Ag & Culinary Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The current festival homepage describes the work it supports. The festival's 2026 announcement says it has raised more than $5.3 million for culinary education, agriculture and sustainability, and restaurant and hospitality-worker relief. The nonprofit describes those programs as the work supported by the festival beyond the meal itself.

If food drives your Hawaiʻi trip, this festival gives the trip a strong center of gravity. Compare lodging for your exact dates before deciding whether to stay near the venue. Our best time to visit Hawaii guide breaks down the weather and travel patterns that usually surround those dates.

The venue map should shape your stay. The Hawaiʻi Island weekend is on the Kohala Coast, the Maui weekend sits in Kāʻanapali, and the Oʻahu weekend spreads across Honolulu and windward Oʻahu. For Maui, our Maui travel guide helps you compare lodging areas and current local guidance. Use the Maui dining guide to plan restaurant meals around your event schedule.

For Hawaiʻi Island and Maui, compare a rental with other transportation for the beaches and meals you plan beyond the resort area. On Oʻahu, you may be able to skip a rental car if your hotel and events stay near Waikīkī. Price rideshare or a rental before committing to Kapiʻolani Community College or windward events, since lodging, event time, group size, and accessibility needs change the equation. If you plan to drink, arrange a sober driver or other transportation before the event. When a rental makes sense for the rest of the trip, compare options through Discount Hawaii Car Rental. For more of what is happening around your dates, check our running Hawaiʻi events coverage.