Most visitors who pass the small park across from the Honolulu Museum of Art never stop. It’s a triangle of lawn with a big banyan tree, a statue of a king in bronze, and two flagpoles. On any normal day, nothing about it tells you that the ground you’re standing on once belonged to a different country.

July 31 is not a normal day.

This year marks the 183rd anniversary of Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea — Sovereignty Restoration Day — the July 31, 1843 ceremony at that exact spot where the Hawaiian flag went back up the pole after five months of British occupation. If you’re going to be on Oʻahu at the end of July, it’s one of the more meaningful free cultural events you can attend, and almost no visitor knows about it.

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In February 1843, a British Royal Navy captain named Lord George Paulet sailed HMS Carysfort into Honolulu Harbor and, without any actual authorization from London, seized the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. He claimed he was protecting the rights of British subjects in the islands. King Kamehameha III, under threat of bombardment, ceded the kingdom provisionally while sending envoys to appeal to the British government. For five months, Hawaiʻi flew the Union Jack. (Wikipedia — Sovereignty Restoration Day)

Paulet’s superior, Rear Admiral Richard Darton Thomas, arrived on HMS Dublin on July 26, 1843. He took one look at Paulet’s paperwork, agreed the seizure was unauthorized, and spent five days negotiating a restoration. On July 31, in a formal ceremony on the plains east of downtown Honolulu, the British flag came down and the Hawaiian flag went back up. Thomas gave a speech affirming Hawaiian independence. Later that day, at Kawaiahaʻo Church, Kamehameha III proclaimed the line that would eventually become Hawaiʻi’s state motto: “Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono” — the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. (Kamehameha Schools — Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea)

The park where it happened was later named Thomas Square in honor of the admiral. For a long time, the site was just a park — banyan trees, grass, and passing traffic. In 2018, on the 175th anniversary, a 12-foot bronze statue of Kamehameha III was unveiled there. (Honolulu Office of the Mayor)

Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea was observed as a Hawaiian Kingdom national holiday in the decades after 1843, though official observance was suspended in 1867 and only briefly restored in 1891 before the 1893 overthrow ended it altogether. Private observances carried the day forward through the 20th century, even without state recognition. Dr. Kekuni Blaisdell — a respected physician and sovereignty advocate — revived the Thomas Square celebration in 1985 as part of the Hawaiian Renaissance. It has grown every year since. (Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts)

In 2022, the State of Hawaiʻi formally recognized July 31 as a special day of observance. It is not a paid state holiday — banks stay open, rental cars still get picked up — but it’s the only day of the year when the Hawaiian flag flies alone at Thomas Square with no U.S. flag beside it. For a lot of people in the Hawaiian community, it matters precisely because it’s a day that isn’t about protest. It’s about a moment when the kingdom was genuinely given back, peacefully, by a foreign power that realized it had overstepped.

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Specific 2026 programming at Thomas Square has not been posted yet as of mid-April — organizers typically release the schedule in June or early July on lahoihoiea.org. Check back closer to the date for the confirmed lineup.

Based on how recent years have run, expect something close to this shape: the main day falls on July 31 or the nearest Saturday, gates at Thomas Square open mid-morning, and recent programming has been full-day — roughly 9 or 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. There is a main stage with live Hawaiian music and halau hula performances, a symbolic flag exchange tied to the 1843 ceremony, a lei-draping at the Kamehameha III statue, cultural presentations and educational booths, and a vendor marketplace with local food and Hawaiian-made goods. The 2025 event centered on the themes of ea (sovereignty/life), demilitarization, and community, and ran from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 27 with a 2 p.m. honoree ceremony. (Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea — 2024 schedule)

It is free, it is family-friendly, and it is almost entirely locals. If you go as a visitor, go quietly and respectfully — this is a community event that happens to let outsiders attend, not a show put on for tourists.

Bring cash. Most food vendors are small local operations. Some take cards, many don’t.

Listen more than you talk. A lot of what happens on stage is in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language). You don’t need a translation to understand what the day is about. Sit on the grass, pay attention, clap when others clap.

Don’t wear a Hawaiian flag as a costume. If you want to show respect, bring a small one to hold during the flag exchange. Wearing one as a cape reads as a costume and locals notice.

Ask before you photograph people close-up. Wide shots of the crowd and stage are fine. Close portraits of kupuna (elders), performers in halau, or people in ceremony deserve a quick “may I?” first.

Don’t ask the vendors about “the luau” or “where’s the fire dance.” This isn’t that kind of event. It’s a commemoration, not a show.

Thomas Square sits at the corner of South Beretania Street and Ward Avenue in downtown Honolulu — bounded by Beretania, King, Ward, and Victoria, directly across Beretania from the Honolulu Museum of Art, and one block mauka (inland) from the Neal Blaisdell Center. From Waikīkī it’s a short drive, a moderate ride on TheBus, or a rideshare — plan on traffic on event days and leave extra time.

Street parking around Thomas Square is metered and fills up fast on event days. The Neal Blaisdell Center has a paid parking garage nearby, and HoMA’s parking lot is behind the Honolulu Museum of Art School at 1111 Victoria Street — check current signage and garage rates before you commit. If you’re doing the whole day, TheBus route 2 stops on S. Beretania near Ward, within a short walk of the park.

A reliable rental car makes the whole trip easier, especially if you’re pairing the event with other sights on Oʻahu. We use and recommend Discount Hawaii Car Rental — they compare major agencies and don’t require a deposit.

If you’re already at Thomas Square, two other stops tie the day together naturally:

Kawaiahaʻo Church (about a mile east, in the Capitol District) — the coral-block church where Kamehameha III delivered the “Ua Mau ke Ea” speech after the 1843 restoration ceremony. An active congregation with a self-guided historic walking tour; check current visitor hours before you go. (Kawaiahaʻo Church on our site)

ʻIolani Palace (just past Kawaiahaʻo) — the only royal palace on U.S. soil, home to the last Hawaiian monarchs. Docent-led tours run $34 per adult, self-led audio tours $28; tours are offered Tuesday through Saturday (verify current pricing and hours at iolanipalace.org before you go). The palace is a hard emotional follow to Thomas Square — you walk through the room where Queen Liliʻuokalani was imprisoned in 1895 after the failed royalist counterrevolution. Worth the time.

Grab food in Kakaʻako afterward. Thomas Square is an easy walk to Kakaʻako — plate-lunch spots off South King Street and the food halls at Salt Kakaʻako are both within a short stroll. Chinatown’s saimin and dumpling counters are a little farther; most visitors will want a quick bus ride or rideshare rather than the full walk. If you’re willing to drive a few miles toward Kalihi, Helena’s Hawaiian Food is the classic Hawaiian plate lunch — just check their hours before you head over, since they’re closed weekends.

Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea is the rare Hawaiian holiday that celebrates a moment when things went right. Not a protest, not a tragedy, not a “lost kingdom” story — a day when a foreign power handed back what it had taken. The flag-raising at Thomas Square in 1843 was unusual enough that it became Hawaiʻi’s state motto. The gathering on July 31, 2026 is the 183rd time the community has marked it.

If you’re in Honolulu that week, go spend a few hours at the park. It’ll change how you see ʻIolani Palace, Kawaiahaʻo Church, and every Hawaiian flag you notice for the rest of your trip.