The Honolulu Festival Foundation is committed to making the Festival an educational opportunity for the students and communities of Hawaii. Over the years, the foundation has carried out education-oriented events such as the Educational School Tours and the Maui Mikoshi Contest.

Educational School Tours

Each year, we offer an exclusive educational tour to the students from Hawaii, where they explore behind-the-scenes of the Honolulu Festival. During the tour, students get to take a closer look at all the festival exhibits, and have a chance to interact with some of the artists and performers participating in the Festival.

Maui Mikoshi Contest

For this contest, which is counted as one of the highlights of the Honolulu Festival, high school students from the island of Maui design Japanese “Mikoshi,” a decorative portable shrine.
Winners of the contest visit Honolulu during the Festival and march in the Grand Parade with their award-winning Mikoshi. The winning Mikoshi will also be displayed at the Hawaii Convention Center during the Festival.