Ho’olaule’a

One of my favorite annual events. love to come here for the numerous vendors, great variety of food, and the fantastic entertainment!

This will be my 30^th year attending this festival. This is the biggest and best one on the mainland in my opinion. Hula, tihitian dancing, Sunday morning worship, vendors, Hawaiian plate lunch what more can you ask for. All set up in a huge park where you can bring blankets, chairs, tents, coolers etc. I advise getting there no later than 9 a.m. if you want to get a good seat. Bring sunscreen and cash. Much Aloha from everyone makes you feel the love no matter your ethnicity. This two day event is always held the third weekend of July.

Bring a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and your wallet for a good time! Offering Hawaiian creations from soap, jewelry, fabric, bowls, and art, to the sounds of Hawaii through music and dance, this is the best and biggest Hawaiian festival I’ve been to on the mainland.
There are about four rows of shops to browse through (and escape the heat at Alondra Park), a row of nothing but ono food (everything from mango to spam musubi, to manapua), and a corner of games for the kiddos.
Don’t bother paying to park in the El Camino structure. There’s plenty of parking across the street for free, all you need to do is walk!
I’ve been going several years now to support the Larry Wong Foundation. At La Mirada High, the foundation will take a group of students to various historic locations on the East Coast where they learn about our history. Most of these kids become involved in politics. My grandma helped out this foundation since the beginning, and I intend to continue supporting their cause.

Stopped off to check out the festival. Dancers were great! It was a nice cool day so we enjoyed it. Festival was free but parking was $ 8, a bit expensive but ok. Everyone charges for parking these days, Lol … Bathrooms were kinda gross as expected since it was in the park. There was plenty of food and vendor booths to choose from. If you never been i would recomend at least coming to the festival at least once …

I try to go to the Ho’olaule’a every year. We usually check out the vendor booths first. I really liked how the vendor booths were set up this year. It usually gets really crowded when you are going down the middle aisles but this set up was great. I hope they continue setting up the booths like that going forward. And then we hit the food booths. I always start out with the malasadas (they’re delicious!), then i pick up some manapuas (I don’t know where they get their manapua from but they are really good), some wonton (the wonton is so good!), a bag of boiled peanuts and chowfun and we are good to go.

so happy that I was able to make it to this annual Hawaiian celebration. festivities began at 9am, but I didn’t arrive until after 11. by then the party was in full force. I walked through the backstage since I parked along Redondo Beach Blvd. and saw a multitude of dancers getting ready for their moment on the stage. I just felt the love of the islands as I passed through. for a moment it felt like I was in Hawaii.
there were probably a few thousand folks at the celebration when i arrived. plenty behind the scenes, on the stage performing, watching the show with blankets, lawn chairs and umbrellas, and folks in line for food stalls and shopping for merchandise. if you missed bringing yourself something back from your last Hawaii trip, fret no longer. they have just about everything here, well except for those chocolate covered macadamia nuts. hawaiian shirts, fabric to make hawaiian attire, plants, home décor… such a multitude of island gear.
towards the back and further end of the huge lawn, is a hawaiian band playing, so as to not interrupt the show. everyone here is happy and the atmosphere is relaxed. really, you feel the love and joy of the islands.
got myself some hot malasadas and spam musubi before heading home.
there was a multitude of free parking on the southern end of the Redondo Beach Blvd. lot as i was leaving. walk through the lake with beautiful ducks and across the playground. this affair lasts two days, every third weekend of July.

I try to make it to this Hawaiian festival every year this event takes place in Alondra Park. Parking has been going up from $ 5 to $ 8 to park in the structure. If you can find street parking i highly recommend it unless you buy a lot of stuff and food but don’t mind walking. It’s not really big but can get packed. One side of the area is where all the vendors are you can buy cloths and other Hawaiian crafts and goodies. The other side is the food where lines can be long and food can run out. It’s nice if you want the feel of the Hawaiian spirit they have hula, music and other shows going on throughout the day on stage. It’s a great place to be the family for some outdoor fun.

The Ho’olaule’a is one of my favorite activities to do in July. A lot of time and effort has been placed by the Hawaiian Inter-​Club Council of California in creating this Polenesian cultural event from ono food, having great Polenesian troupes performances, and a variety of merchandise vendors. Most of all, my daughter and I was showing our support since her aunt was doing the hula at one of the performances.
Here are some recommendations/​tips/​information when going to this event:
— It is free. No admission ticket nor entrance fee is required to attend this event.
— Parking is $ 8.00 at the college. If you do not mind walking approximately ¹⁄₃ of a mile, parking is free in the residential area.
— Service is held at the park on Sunday morning.
— Bring water.
— Wear sunscreen/​hat.
— Have a mat/​picnic blanket, or a low back/​short folding chair. If you plan to see the performances, please do not bring regular size folding chairs (unless you plan on sitting in the very back) because you will obstruct and impede on others’ enjoyment of the show.
— Bring cash. Some vendors do accept credits but most of food vendors accept cash only.
— Please be courteous and do not take over other people’s stuff. A family was sitting on our blanket when we returned from getting malasadas. I had to politely ask them to move.
— Wear a Hawaiian shirt, dress, t-​shirt, or lei to show your aloha spirit.
They have good selection of ono food. Undecided on what to try? At the very least, try a malasada, shaved ice or a spam musubi. Unfortunately, they ran out of spam musubi by 2:00p.m. so get them early. Some of the vendors are non-​profit organizations and are doing a fundraiser, please provide them your support.
Also, there are many Polenesian merchandise available for purchase. They have Polenesian textile, jewelry, t-​shirts, bags, books, pulmeria clips, etc. My daughter loves spam musubi so we always look for new t-​shirt prints. The most popular item, I think for purchase are the plumeria branches. Be sure to ask what color bloom it will be.
Most of all, have fun, sit back, watch a performance, and enjoy the event.

A mixed bag. It’s a nice home fix on a summer weekend every year. We set up chairs (in the limited shade if we get there early enough), enjoy music and hula as we eat tasty but overpriced grinds that we waited in a long line for. I’m convinced that they keep that awful windbag MC who blathers on for 20 mins in between acts to drive sales to the tshirt and craft booths. .if so it usually works on me.

Please be aware that NO PETS are allowed at this event! There are normally 30 – 60,000 people per day and that is NOT a place for pets! That being said: It is a WONDERFUL event! Long Running, well established, Ono Grindz and Many Halau’s Bring a blanket to sit on, and a bag to take some malasada’s home wit you, Bring CASH for food & shopping! (many boutique vendors) Aloha all around!

This was so much fun! If I had kids, I’d bring them and spend the entire day here playing games, eating, shopping and watching the performances! My husband is from Hawaii so it’s always great to have a taste of Hawaii and culture. I think the only downside was that there was no beer, but it is a family affair afterall :)

Great cure for homesickness. Love being surrounded by the aloha spirit. There were lots great vendors to peruse local and Hawaiian type wares. The food was tasty enough and as all Hawaiian plate lunches go, there was plenty.
There was more than ample parking on the street around the park or next door at El Camino College but be prepared for a short trek. There was also some parking on the inside but it looked like you needed a pass or to «know» someone to get in.
Admission was free and there was a Sunday morning worship on the stage for people to attend.

Great dances, relax seating on the grass, fresh lemonade, not the best parking but a fun afternoon.
Good:
–The Dancers on Saturday from 2 – 3 were amazing, children, women and senior women, awesome! Very beautiful movement by the Women.
–Fresh squeezed lemonade stand, I hear last year they had fake lemonade
–Shaved ice stand, oh my nephew and my friend’s BF loved it
–Plenty of portable bathrooms, at least 5 wash sinks, park restroom was also open
–Had a great view, although for a while, towards the end, some people stood up
–I received a Lei, as did my nephew, after a group of dancers finished their performance
Bad:
–Parking was not a bad price, $ 5, long was not too far, it was so-​so, 2.5 stars for the parking
–The performance spectating area is not tent-​covered, so if the sprinkles turned to rain, we would have ran to the car. In hot weather, people may need sunblock or an umbrella.
Other:
–I did not spend a lot of time checking out the booths with items for sale
–I did not eat here, I did enjoy the smell, my nephew hated it.
Conclusion: I will come back next year for the performances and to chill and relax at the park, hopefully no rain.

I’ve been coming to this fest annually with my parents since… well as long as I can remember. I have a hard time remembering a year I haven’t been! My parents get anxious and we get there on the first day (Saturday) and as soon as everything is opening up, ~10am. We have secret free parking (I can’t really divulge that… because then it wouldn’t be a secret, now would it?!). Once you’re there be prepared for a hot day/​weekend and be prepared to be constantly reminded of this by the hosts. But don’t worry! There’s tons of fruity juices and sort-​of-​kind-​of shave ice (some years I’ve found myself trekking down to Teri Hawaii after the fest to get the real stuff, authentic and finely shaved…) to enjoy. There’s also a nice selection of island food. Over the years I’ve seen the people, menus, booths, etc change up. Even though your go-​to has changed, there’s something there for everyone! One addition within the last few years that I really like is the little tented area with tables near the food stands complete with a small stage for entertainment. It’s a good break from the sun and sometimes nicer to sit at a table than on the ground. Be warned, space is limited! You might even get the chair pulled out from under you! Saving seats? Forget about it! Grandma is over there giving you the stink eye!
If you’re just casually headed to the fest (like we usually do), here’s a few tips for next year:
1. CASH for the food stands and all the trinkets and knick-​knacks that you can carry home
2. SHOPPING BAGS in case you want to bring home some extra food (trust me, its way easier to carry around that heavy styrofam box overflowing with delicious food) or to save the vendors a bag
3. a blanket or something to sit on if you plan on watching the shows
4. water (they sell cheap water there ($ 1), but it’s also convenient to have your own without waiting in line)
Have fun and no shame going both days!

Many people on the mainland think that just because it’s a Hawaiian festival, that it automatically has to be associated with paradise. As if it’s some sort of permanent vacation. Everything and everyone from the Islands here must be sipping Mai Tais, shaking their hips and catching waves all day.
Are they insane? Do they think that Hawaiian festivals are just immune to being shitty events? How could they possibly think that Hawaiian festivals aren’t any less screwed up, it’s organizations any less disorganized. It’s crowds anymore annoying? It’s food any less overpriced? Hell, I haven’t seen prices for steak and scoops of rice this high elsewhere.
For the last two days many folks in Alondra Park were living with the nightmare of people squatting spots in front of the performance stage blocking the view of anything
Paradise?
Paradise can go fuck itself.
Parking is a major hassle, but I wasn’t upset about having to walk the couple of blocks from the residential area to get here. Nor was I upset with the notion of chowing down on Spam. In fact, I’m fine with eating the stuff. I love Spam Masubi. What I don’t like is when I’m price gauged up the wazoo for what is essentially rice, canned meat byproduct and seaweed wrapping.
$ 5 for two of what had to be the most boring spam masubi I have ever eaten was just a crime worthy of being cursed by a tiki idol. Worse of all it wasn’t even cooked up like even the worse places I have had it.
Speaking of idols. The lack of tiki stuff here kind of just bummed me out. There was one booth that had some generic off the shelf of your local spencers looking tiki glasses and that was it.
That was one of the biggest things, among others, that took the wind out of my sails. The fact that nothing here really was worth the trip out here. The vendors were selling crap. and I mean total crap that you could probably find at a discount shelf towards the end of summer as they’re clearing out their seasonal stuff.
The vendors booths were also on the most uneven/​bump parts of the park. I can’t imagine how many people tripped over the roots coming out of the ground.
The food, going back to it, was just rather lame and overpriced for what you were getting. If you’re going to charge five bucks for lemonade, try to hide the fact that your concentrate bottles are sitting right out there on the counter. Then again, at tourist trap festivals like this they could do whatever they want cause they know you’re going to be paying the price, drinking down your swill and thanking them with a big smile at the end of it.
The performances… well, I wish I could have seen some. The crowds around the stage were far too massive and really not worth fighting to get through.
So what you had was a lot of time in the sun and paying waaaay too much for food you shouldn’t have to pay that much for. The whole cultural festival falls short and was rather big disappointment from what I was hoping and expecting.

This is one of the larger So Cal Ho’olaule’as in regards to the amount of food and craft vendors. The vendors are generally the same each year.
The food isn’t great, but keep in mind it’s a fundraiser for the organizations behind them.
The entertainment is always awesome! Everyone sits on the grass, but the seating area fills up quickly.
If you don’t arrive by noon, parking can be difficult to find. $ 5 to park in the El Camino College structure adjacent to the park.

Freaking amazing malasadas!

this polynesian festival was so fun! Now I really want to go to hawaii. I came here by 11 am on a sunday when it wasn’t too crowded. but it became so packed by early afternoon! Awesome performances! Watched many groups perform tahitian and hawaiian dances all afternoon. It got really hot though and the shaded parts of the lawn are limited. Spend the afternoon here to shop at the vendors where they sell hawaiian clothes, jewelry, hair clips… and grab hawaiian food for lunch while you’re at it! I ate a hawaiian pork sandwich while I was there that was sooo good! The Hawaiian meal (that came with pork, rice, poi, and salmon) was ok… it was 8 dollars versus the 6 dollar pork sandwich and I’d recommend the sandwich way over the meal. That was my first time trying poi and I thought that was kind of weird and bland.
It’s free admission too! :)

The music and hula were wonderful. And the food was so ono! It took me back home to Hawai’i,
It was so nice to be able to celebrate with all the Hawai’ians.
I will definitely be back!

I went to Ho’olaulea at Alondra Park this year with my best friend who is Hawaiian. She has been coming for years, but this was my first time. I loved everything about it!
SPAM Sushi, Teriyaki, Kalua pork, Hawaiian Chop Suey, Rice, shaved Hawaiian Ice. Hula all day! They had it all! I was so excited to be there. There was a huge turn out of vendors. They had everything from tropical plants, artwork, car seat covers to clothes. It was an excellent spread.
Not to mention all the eye candy! I heart Samoan boys! =)
I will definitely come back next year.