Your Guide to the Perfect Weekend in Honolulu: September 30–October 7, 2020

Grab your tickets for Poke Fest, visit Waimea Valley, watch for shooting stars and tune in to a Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra performance.

September 30, 2020

Taylor Nakaoka,

Alicia’s Market’s Abalone squid poke is one of the dishes available for pickup at poke fest.

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Frolic’s Poke Fest

Saturday, October 17, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Even though Frolic’s third annual Poke Fest is a few weeks away, tickets for the all-new drive-thru event are almost sold out. This year, you can choose from three different preset boxes that include poke from some of our favorite shops, such as: Off the Hook, with its popular cold ginger ‘ahi; vegan poke with roasted ‘ulu and parsnips from Dean & DeLuca; Tahitian-style poke in coconut milk with cherry tomatoes and lime on a bed of cabbage from Nico’s Pier 38; and Alicia’s Market’s abalone squid poke. You can add on dessert options from Hawaiian Pie Co. and Scoops Scoops for a full meal. Scoop Scoops is offering its Schmean Green flavor, aka Green River, exclusively for this day as well. All the morning pickup times have been claimed, but a few slots from noon to 2 p.m. are still available.

Pickup will be Oct. 17 at 210 Ward Ave. (corner of Ala Moana Boulevard), shop.honolulumagazine.com, @frolichawaii

Draconid Meteor Shower

Best viewing time will be Wednesday, October 7

So many events have been canceled over the past few months, but if there’s one thing we can count on happening this week, it’s a meteor shower. The Draconid shower is usually a sleeper, but you might catch a few shooting stars. The meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Draco, also known as the dragon. Draco is in the far northern sky. The best time to view the Draconids in Hawaiʻi is after sunset (6:12 p.m.) until midnight. Most city parks close by 10 p.m., but a few of the best spots, such as Mokulēʻia Beach Park, close early at 7 p.m., so check before you go. Tantalus (Puʻu ʻUalakaʻa State Wayside) closes early too, at 6:45 p.m., but you might catch a few shooting stars before having to head out. If not, you’ll still get a great view of the city.

Photo: Courtesy of Waimea Valley

Waimea Valley Reopening

Thursday, October 1

Take a casual stroll through the Waimea Valley trail, roam the botanical gardens and breathe in some fresh air. Face masks are required everywhere in the valley, including the botanical garden, and you must remain 6 feet from other guests and staff. Be sure to stop by the Kauhale Kahiko, which is one of the last Hawaiian living sites for a high-ranking chief or priest on Oʻahu. The hale has been restored using traditional techniques and material from Waimea Valley’s cultural program departments. Sadly, the waterfall will not be open for swimming, but you can spot native Hawaiian koki‘o hibiscus, water lily, yellow bird of paradise and more in the botanical garden. If you’re lucky, you might also spot some red, orange, yellow and pink heliconias, whose season is coming to an end. Keiki Days, when kids ages 4 to 12 are admitted free, have been moved to Wednesdays and Sundays.

Free admission for health care workers and first responders, $8 for kamaʻāina, $20 general, $18 for college students with ID and seniors, $12 for ages 4-12. Tickets can be bought beforehand or at the ticket booth. Open Thursday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Waimea Valley Road, (808) 638-7766, waimeavalley.net,@waimeavalleyoahu

Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra: From Chaos to Calm

Saturday, October 3, 7:30 p.m.

Don’t waste your time ironing your semiformal attire for this performance, led by Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony Director Joseph Stepec. The performance will be broadcast live from Hawaiʻi Theatre Center, so you can go on a virtual journey from chaos to calm without leaving home. The concert by the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra will feature works by Dvorak and Shostakovich.

$20 for one streaming device, hawaiitheatre.com, @hawaiisymphonyorchestra

Weekend Adventures

photo: kerri mokulehua

Go Cardboard Sledding

Take the kids for some old-fashioned fun—all you need is a piece of cardboard. And they had so much fun (as you see by their faces) sliding the day away! —Kerri Mokulehua, advertising executive

Binge Reality Shows

I’ve finally figured out what to do in that last hour before bedtime when I need to put my phone down, don’t feel like reading, it’s too late to watch a movie and it’s too early to go to sleep: reality competitions. After watching Abstract, the docu-series about creatives in various industries, I came across a British makeup competition called Glow Up. I burned through the show’s two seasons in less than a week. It’s fascinating to see the incredible art these competitors are capable of, and now I have a ton more accounts to follow on Instagram. I also absolutely love judge Val Garland’s catchphrase when she likes something: DING DONG. Finally, something that makes me go to sleep happy. I’ve just started the baking competition, Nailed It! and I haven’t laughed so hard in six months. —Katrina Valcourt, managing editor

Order Takeout in Kailua

Food Company is the one restaurant in Kailua where we can order local-style food for everyone in our family—there’s something for everyone: HotYah Chicken, kalbi tofu, crabcakes and Korean chicken, and more. And it’s all so yummy. My kids enjoy the guava barbecue chicken and the homemade desserts. We seem to never be able to leave without picking up some of the pumpkin crunch, or peanut butter pie. —Megan Polak, programs manager at Hawai‘i Association of Independent Schools

Follow Some Felines

Following Popoki and Tea (@popokiandtea) on Instagram. That’s the cat café in Kaimukī that connects prospective cat owners with felines in need of a home. I love it because I am a cat person, but also because in these times of nothing but depressing news, it’s uplifting to hear about cats finding their forever homes. I think it’s good for Hawaiʻi because everyone is in need of some happy news right now. —Robert Pennybacker, Honolulu

This article appears in the September 2020 issue of HONOLULU Magazine.