The Made in Hawaii Festival is the largest showcase of locally made products in the state. The 32nd annual event runs August 20-23, 2026 at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu. If your trip overlaps, this is one of the best ways to bring home something genuinely Hawaiian — not the mass-produced souvenirs lining Waikiki shelves.

Over 400 vendors fill three exhibition halls with food products, clothing, jewelry, art, skincare, coffee, chocolate, macadamia nuts, and crafts. Everything sold at the festival must be grown, produced, or significantly manufactured in Hawaii. That is the entire point.

Dates: August 20-23, 2026 (Thursday through Sunday)

Location: Hawaii Convention Center, 1801 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu

Hours: Typically 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Final hours will be confirmed on the official website closer to the event.

Tickets: General admission is usually $8-$10. Tickets go on sale in early August. Children under 6 are typically free. Kama’aina (local resident) discounts are often available for advance purchase.

Parking: The convention center garage fills early on weekends. Use the Blaisdell Center overflow lot or park at Ala Moana Center and take a short rideshare. TheBus routes 2 and 13 stop at the convention center.

This year’s festival introduces special designations for Native Hawaiian-owned and wahine (women)-owned businesses. Vendor booths carrying these designations will be marked with distinct signage, making it easier to support indigenous and women entrepreneurs directly.

The move reflects a broader push in Hawaii’s local economy to highlight businesses with deep community roots. For visitors, it is a straightforward way to ensure your purchases support the people and culture you came to experience.

The festival is a concentrated version of every farmers market, craft fair, and specialty shop across the islands. A few categories worth targeting:

Hawaiian coffee and chocolate. Kona coffee roasters, Maui-grown cacao producers, and Ka’u coffee farms all send vendors. You can taste before buying, and festival prices often undercut retail. Look for single-origin micro-lots — these are the beans that never make it to mainland grocery stores.

Skincare and soaps. Hawaii has a thriving small-batch skincare industry built on local ingredients — kukui nut oil, plumeria, awapuhi (wild ginger), macadamia oil. Several brands at the festival are only available direct-to-consumer.

Hawaiian sea salt. Molokai red salt, black lava salt, and white Hawaiian sea salt are legitimate specialty ingredients you cannot get at the same quality anywhere else.

Art and prints. Local photographers, painters, and printmakers sell originals and limited-edition prints. If you want wall art from your trip, this is a better source than a gallery in Waikiki.

Clothing and aloha wear. Hawaii-designed and -sewn aloha shirts, dresses, and accessories. The quality difference between a Made in Hawaii aloha shirt and a $15 import is obvious the moment you touch the fabric.

Food products. Mac nut butters, lilikoi jams, dried mango, Hawaiian honey, and hot sauces. Most vendors offer samples. Pack these in checked luggage — liquids and jams will not clear TSA in carry-on.

Go on Thursday or Friday. Saturday and Sunday draw the largest crowds — locals treat it as a weekend outing. Thursday afternoon is the least crowded. Friday mornings are also manageable.

Bring cash. Most vendors accept cards now, but smaller booths — especially food vendors — may be cash-only. An ATM is available inside the convention center, but the line grows long by Saturday.

Wear comfortable shoes. Three exhibition halls on concrete floors. You will walk more than you expect.

Bring a cooler bag for perishables. If you are buying chocolate, mac nut products, or anything that melts, the convention center’s air conditioning is aggressive — but the walk to your car is not. A small insulated bag saves your purchases.

Ship it home. Several shipping services set up booths at the festival specifically for visitors who buy more than they can carry. USPS Priority Mail flat-rate boxes are also available. Heavy items like coffee and chocolate ship well.

The festival is a 10-minute drive from Waikiki or a quick ride on TheBus. If you need a car for the rest of your Oahu trip, Discount Hawaii Car Rental has pickup at Honolulu Airport and Waikiki locations.

If the Made in Hawaii Festival anchors your August trip, a few other events overlap or fall nearby:

Duke’s OceanFest — Typically mid-to-late August in Waikiki. A week of ocean sports competitions honoring Duke Kahanamoku, including surfing, paddleboard racing, and swimming. Free to watch from the beach.

Hawaiian Slack-Key Guitar Festival — Usually held on a Sunday in August at a Waikiki venue. Free admission, outdoor setting, some of the best slack-key guitarists in the islands.

For a full list of Oahu events, see our annual Oahu festivals guide. For island-wide events across all four islands, check our events hub.