HONOLULU Magazine’s Fall 2019 Bucket List: The 66 Best Things to Do on O‘ahu

We rounded up your must-do list for the season so you can plan the best fall ever.

September 23, 2019

HONOLULU Magazine Team,

1–5. Cheer at a homecoming game

St. Louis versus Kahuku in the 2016 championship game.

Photo: Gregory Yamamoto

The Warriors scored over Central Arkansas Saturday at UH’s homecoming at Aloha Stadium. But it’s also a good time to sit in the bleachers of your high school alma mater. Nānākuli, Waialua, Pearl City, Moanalua and Mililani high schools’ homecoming games are coming up. Wear your school colors and make sure to stop by the concession stand for those old-school Okahara saimin cups and neon yellow nachos as you recall your freshman fashion mistakes (Aqua Net bangs anyone?). For bonus points, watch marching bands and homecoming kings and queens roll past in the back of pickup trucks in the neighborhood parades. Here’s a short list from the city’s street usage filings.

Nānākuli: Sept. 25, 4 to 5 p.m. on Nānākuli Avenue.
Waialua: Sept. 26, 4 to 5:30 p.m. through Hale‘iwa
Pearl City: Sept. 27, 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. from the high school down to Waimano Home Road
Moanalua: Sept. 27, 3 to 4 p.m. down Ala Ilima to Ala Napuani streets
Mililani: Oct. 4, 1 to 2:15 p.m. down Meheula Parkway past Kīpapa Drive to the school stadium

6. Watch Pā‘u Riders

PHOTO: Courtesy of Aloha festivals

If you feel like watching a bigger procession, the Aloha Festivals Floral Parade is Saturday, Sept. 28. It starts at 9 a.m. with the route starting at Ala Moana Park and ending at the Waikīkī Shell. Click here to find out what it is like to be a pā‘u rider in the 73rd annual tradition.

7—22. Watch a curtain rise at a local theater

August and September are the start of the local theater season. And there are more than 15 reasons to go see a show. Diamond Head Theatre opens with Oscar-winning musical Kinky Boots about a family-run shoe factory that finds financial salvation with stilettos and drag queens; Kumu Kahua Theatre’s plays cover everything from the conversion of Queen Ka‘ahumanu to Christianity to the challenges of queer relationships in Samoan families; Mānoa Valley Theatre just opened its season with a story of a man, his wife and a dog in Sylvia; not to mention premiere productions at Kennedy Theatre, Palikū Theatre, The Actors Group and Honolulu Theatre for Youth.

23. Hit up a street festival

Photo: COurtesy of Festa Italiana Hawai‘i

The Aloha Festivals Ho‘olaule‘a is one of the biggest street fests in Waikīkī this season. Four stages of entertainment along with dozens of booths with food, cultural arts and crafts and other vendors will line Kalākaua Avenue. Sept. 21, 6 to 9:30 p.m. alohafestivals.com.

If pasta and pizza are more your thing, Festa Italiana will shut down Cooke Street in Kaka‘ako on Sept. 28. If you’re expecting a little vino with your specialità, you will have to buy a VIP ticket. See our Ultimate Guide to Festa Italiana.

24. Harvest a Star

Chef mark noguchi’s star fruit apple banana bread

Photo: Karen DB Photography

Take a moment to mourn the end of endless amounts of lychee and mango. OK? Over it? Those aren’t the only local fruits to celebrate. September marks the start of local starfruit and avocado season. Tangerines, guava, kumquat and, we have to say it, durian, follow in October. All stay in bloom throughout December. Give some love to one of the lesser heralded fruits, starfruit, with chef Mark Noguchi’s recipes for starfruit lemonade, starfruit salsa and starfruit apple banana bread. And see exactly what’s in season when in our Ultimate Guide to Local Fruit.

25—30. Run, walk, bike, or do all three

PHOTO: COURTESY OF Hawai‘i bicycling league

Cooler (we hope) weather makes distance races a little less painful. The Honolulu Century Bike Ride on Sept. 29 takes athletes on a 100-mile route from Kalākaua Avenue around the windward side and back to Kapi‘olani Park. If just the idea of the distance makes you lie on the couch, there are also 75-, 50-, 25-, 18-, 9- and 5-mile paths. hbl.org/honolulucenturyride

If that ride feels too tame, the Hawai‘i Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation Triathlon sends people into the waters of Ala Moana Beach Park for a 1,500-meter swim, followed by a 27-mile bike ride over the H3 before a 10K run on Kāne‘ohe Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i. The triathlon is Nov. 2. Remember to have someone pick you up at the finish. You and your bike won’t end up at the starting line. racetothebaseh3t.com

For those who prefer to stay on two feet, we counted eight run/walks on Honolulu streets. Distances vary from HMSA’s 30K (Oct. 20) to 5K walks for various groups including Kailua High School (Nov. 3) and Homeward Bound (Nov. 28). The Susan G. Komen Hawai‘i Race for the Cure always brings in big groups. This year, it is Oct. 13 through Waikīkī. See all the races registered with the city by month at honolulu.gov.

31—35. Yell prost and drink beer (or cider)

Paradise ciders will be just one local company pouring at 12th ave grill’s oktoberfest dinner.

PHOTO: courtesy of paradise ciders

Oktoberfest isn’t really in October. The beer gardens opened in Munich on Saturday, Sept. 21 and close on Oct. 6 and most schnitzel-loaded events on O‘ahu are the last week in September. Here’s our list of special Oktoberfest menus here.

Sept. 20—Oct. 4: Oktoberfest menu at Hukilau
Sept. 24: Pai Honolulu Oktoberfest Dinner
Sept. 26: 12th Ave Oktoberfest Biergarten featuring Aloha Beer, Waikīkī Brewing Co. and Paradise Cider
Sept. 27: Hale Koa Oktoberfest 2019 (must be military or Department of Defense)
Oct. 5: Feast for Farms-Oktoberfest

36. Stock up on canned goods

Hurricane season is a good excuse to indulge your inner child. Yes, there’s Spam, but feel free to stock up on SpaghettiOs, alphabet soup, mandarin oranges and other small-kid-time favorites that you usually feel too guilty to grab. Hey, it’s emergency preparation. Just don’t try to return any bottled water. Shame.

37. Build elaborate canned goods structures, or just go see one

PHOTO: COURTESY OF HAWAI‘I FOODBANK/AIA HONOLULU

Architects just do it better. Canstruction is at Kāhala Mall this October.

38—41. Pick a pumpkin.

Photo: Courtesy of Aloun Farms

Whether you’re planning an elaborate jack-o’-lantern or are waiting to carve out your pumpkin keg, three places will offer fields full of local (and precut) pumpkins to select. While you’re there, feel no shame for hopping on a hayride with little kids, picking corn or taking multiple selfies with bales of hay and other farm props. Aloun Farms 19th Annual Pumpkin Festival in Kapolei is Oct. 12 through Oct. 27. alounfarms.com. Fall Harvest Festival at Waimānalo Farms starts Oct. 5 and includes a sunflower field. waimanalocountryfarms.com. Holy Nativity School’s pumpkin patch opens for its Great Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 19, holynativityschool.org.

42. Go Night Reef Walking

photo: Jennifer Carlile Dalgamouni for honolulu family

The summer south swell is fading, making for safer conditions for a reef walk close to town. The Waikīkī Aquarium is offering three expeditions in 2019 starting on Oct. 25. Bring a flashlight (waterproof, it goes without saying), tabis or other water shoes with grip to walk on the wet and uneven terrain, and search for eels, crabs, parrotfish, octopuses and other sea creatures that like to come out after dark. Oct. 25, 7 to 9 p.m.; Nov. 23, Dec. 9 and Jan. 8, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. $20 for adults, $15 for kids. waikikiaquarium.org

43 & 44. Try to Find a Meteor

Two meteor showers occur in the fall. The Bishop Museum says the moon will likely interfere with both the Orionid and the Leonid showers, but you can still look for those streaks in the sky. The peak for the Orionids, which is one of two showers created by debris from Halley’s comet, is Oct. 21 and 22 (with a waning crescent moon) while the Leonids are best in Hawai‘i Nov. 17 and 18. Full moons are Oct. 13 and Nov. 12.

45—49. Cheer for the Bows, Sharks, Silverswords or Seasiders

PHOTO: Josh Martin courtesy of hawaiiathletics.com

There’s a reason to wear your green and white almost every weekend in the fall. Sure, coach Rolovich and the Warriors get most of the press but UH volleyball, soccer, basketball, even cross country, golf, tennis, swimming and diving are going right now. The Wahine Volleyball team started the season ranked 20th in the nation and under coach, and former Rainbow Wahine, Robyn Ah Mow the team has climbed to No. 13 after upsets against San Diego and Washington. Fans can join fundraisers for both basketball teams—the men celebrate the team’s 100th season with the Tipoff event on Oct. 24 while the women’s Hoopla Fundraiser is Nov. 1. hawaiiathletics.edu. If you’re a shark fan, Hawai‘i Pacific University’s basketball season begins in November, hpusharks.com. Silversword fans can find all the Chaminade University action at goswords.com while BYU-Hawai‘i Seasiders athletic calendar is at byuhawaiisports.com.

50 & 51. Celebrate Makahiki

The rising of the constellation Makali‘i (Pleiades) marks the start of makahiki, the Hawaiian New Year. During the celebration of the harvest and Lono, the god of agriculture, war is banned (just so you know) and families rested and played traditional games. Festivals on the south and north shores will both feature games such as ‘ulu maika (stone bowling), moa pahe‘e (dart sliding) and, for the less physical competitors, kōnane (checkers).

Waikīkī Aquarium’s Makahiki: Nov. 2, 9 a.m. to noon. A procession begins at 9 a.m. followed by games. $8 for kama‘āina and military, $5 for kids 4 to 12 years. waikikiaquarium.org
Waimea Valley’s Makahiki Festival and Heiwa Tu‘aro Competition: Nov. 9, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The coconut tree race begins at 10 a.m. followed by foot races, a rock-lifting competition, arm wrestling and hula. $5 for kama‘āina and military. waimeavalley.net