Your Guide to the Perfect Weekend: July 27–30, 2017

A lineup of the weekend’s best events.

July 26, 2017

Marisa Heung,

We have a confession to make: Sometimes, we take our weekends way too seriously. Fun? Who has time for that when there’s laundry to do, the sink’s full of dishes and those darn kids keep trespassing onto our property? Weekends can feel like work, and work can make us feel crotchety, but—whew!—there’s still time to turn that frown upside down. This weekend, we’ve got a lineup filled with music, dance and shopping. If that fails, we’re digging out last year’s Halloween costume and heading to the Hawai‘i Convention Center to meet the Dread Pirate Roberts.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF The Mayjah Rayjah Music Festival

The Mayjah Rayjah 2017 Music Festival

Friday, July 28 and Saturday, July 29, 4:30 to 10 p.m.

Established in 2010, the Mayjah Rayjah music festival has become one of Hawai‘i’s largest reggae fests and a core part of our Island music scene. Held each year at the iconic Waikīkī Shell, the two-day event has brought in some of the biggest names in the genre. This year is no different: Among 2017’s lineup are bands Soja, Katchafire and Rebel Souljahz; artists such as Hawai‘i’s own Eli-Mac; and Grammy award-winning artist Shaggy (yes, the guy whose 2000 hit single, “It Wasn’t Me,” became one generation’s first lesson in the art of denial). Single-day and two-day passes are still available for the Waikīkī Shell lawn, and we suggest buying them ASAP. All ages are welcome to the event.

$59–$99, Waikīkī Shell, 2805 Monserrat Ave. For more information and to purchase tickets, go here.

This month’s Weekend Picks Sponsored by:

Comic Con Honolulu 2017

Friday, July 28 through Sunday, July 30

Need directions on how to get to Comic Con Honolulu this weekend? Go straight on Kapiʻolani Avenue, heading toward Waikīkī. If you see a group of Marvel superheroes, knights or girls wearing hot-pink cat ears, follow them (but play it cool—no one likes a creeper). You’ll soon wind up at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, surrounded by cosplayers dressed as every sort of comic, book and movie character you could imagine. Comic Con Honolulu (not to be confused with the Amazing Hawai‘i Comic Con, taking place in August) is a family-friendly, three-day convention created by locals for locals and celebrates all types of fandom. The schedule includes costume competitions, gaming areas and celebrity panels (for the most complete, updated lineup, download the official Comic Con Honolulu app, which also allows you to custom-build your own event schedule). Play a couple rounds of Catan, snag autographs and a photo with celebs Cary Elwes and Kevin Sorbo (among others), hear about the early days of Doctor Who from the sixth doctor himself and lots more.

P.S. Dress for the job you want—show up as your favorite hero or villain! (Or, if you’re us, a two-toed sloth.)

$40–$65, Hawai‘i Convention Center, 1801 Kalākaua Ave. For more information and to purchase tickets, go here.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Asia Pacific Dance Festival

2017 Asia Pacific Dance Festival: Living the Art of Hula

Thursday, July 27 at 7:30 p.m.

The Asia Pacific Dance Festival, a co-production by the University of Hawai‘i Outreach College and the East-West Center Arts Program that takes place every other summer, celebrates the art of dance with a showcase of some of the best performers and choreographers from the Pacific and Asia. This year’s theme, “Beyond Borders,” will be interpreted in multiple ways in the festival’s dances, classes, workshops and lectures offered over this weekend and next. The festival kicks off this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. with Living the Art of Hula, a discussion on what’s known as the “hapa-haole” era of Hawaiian music and dance that’s equal parts storytelling, dance performance and history lesson. It will be led by kumu hula Michael Pili Pang and Leimomi I-Maldonado, choreographer/soloist Kanoe Miller and music historian Harry B. Soria Jr.

$17–$34, Kennedy Theatre at UH Mānoa, 1770 East-West Road. For more information on this event and others taking place during the Asia Pacific Dance Festival, go here.

Fashion Friday with Vici Honolulu and Tea at 1024

Friday, July 28, 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

There’s nothing quite like finger sandwiches, floppy hats and a pot of Earl Grey to make a girl feel like a lady. Chinatown neighbors Tea at 1024 and boutique Vici Honolulu are partnering up for a first-ever Fashion Friday, an afternoon-tea-meets-runway-show event that will appeal to your feminine sensibilities. Vici, which joined the Chinatown community in November, will showcase all-new pieces from Khush Clothing, a locally designed label known for creating breezy, bohemian styles perfect for that effortlessly chic, “oh-this-old-thing” fashionista we all aspire to be. During the event, Tea at 1024 will offer a buy-one-get-one-half-off deal on its afternoon tea service, and Vici Honolulu will offer shoppers 15 percent off any purchase, or 10 percent off a future in-store purchase at its brick-and-mortar location at 71 S. Hotel St.

$22.95–$26.95 for tea service, Tea at 1024, 1024 Nu‘uanu Ave. For more information on the event, visit Vici Honolulu’s Instagram. To make reservations, call Tea at 1024 at (808) 521-9596.

(Disclaimer: Vici Honolulu is owned by a family member of a HONOLULU staffer.)

Looking for more things to do? Check out our events calendar.