Your Guide to the Perfect Weekend: June 2–3, 2017

A lineup of the weekend’s best events.

May 31, 2017

Marisa Heung,

Weekend warriors, epicures, connoisseurs of the arts and culture: This weekend’s got what you need. This Friday, head to The Kāhala Hotel & Resort for a sophisticated pau hana only Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival can pull off, immerse yourself in the local art scene at Friends of HiSAM’s fundraiser and new solo exhibit, or sweat it out to the bass-heavy beats of some of EDM’s biggest names. Those with keiki (or interested in incubating a Hawaiian-food baby), we haven’t forgotten about you: Keep Saturday open for one of O‘ahu’s biggest lūʻau, a family-friendly event taking place at Kualoa Ranch.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF Hawai‘i Food & WIne Festival

Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival: Cuisines of the Sea

Friday, June 2, 6 to 9 p.m.

Most don’t need an introduction to Hawai‘i’s ultra-luxurious food and drink festival, but for those who do, here it is: The annual Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival takes place over three weekends on O‘ahu, Maui and the Big Island and brings in internationally renowned chefs, personalities, and wine and spirit brands. The festival isn’t until fall (Oct. 20 to Nov. 5 this year), but you can get a taste for what’s in store this Friday at Cuisines of the Sea, a special kick-off pau hana at—where else—The Kāhala Hotel & Resort. Enjoy seafood bites crafted by 10 of Hawai‘i’s best chefs, including James Beard Award winners Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi, as the big-name talents and winemakers of this year’s Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival are announced. Of course, no feast is complete without libations: Get happy on vino from award-winning vineyards Opus One, Silver Oak Wine Cellars and Caymus Vineyards to name a few; or, sip on cocktails mixed by one of Hawai‘i’s best mixologists. Whatever your poison, we promise you’ll be seeing fireworks by the end of the night. (But you gotta stick around for the fireworks finale.)

$175, The Kāhala Hotel & Resort, 5000 Kāhala Ave. For more information and to purchase tickets, go here.

First Friday at Hawai‘i State Art Museum

Friday, June 2, 5 to 9 p.m.

An extra-special first Friday is taking place at the Hawai‘i State Art Museum: Along with the fourth installment of volunteer-run Friends of HiSAM’s Across Generations exhibit, you’re also in for another treat with the debut of a brand-new solo exhibition by renowned Hawai‘i artist Yvonne Cheng (whose work you’ve probably seen, like, everywhere), which can be found in the Artizen by MW space through Aug. 25. This Friday also marks the start of Friends of HiSAM’s fundraiser for the long-awaited HiSAM Gallery Shop x MORI by Art + Flea, a unique pop-up concept that will showcase for-purchase items by Hawai‘i’s emerging and established artists. The fundraiser will feature the donated art of 100 different artists, including Satoru Abe, Ron Kent and John Koga to name a few, with all profits going toward funding the opening of this new gallery shop. While you're there, enjoy other First Friday fun including live performances by Hawai‘i Youth Symphony alumni, food by Artizen and a no-host bar—all you need for an evening around (down)town.

Free, Hawai‘i State Art Museum, 250 S. Hotel St. For more information on the event, visit the Friends of the Hawai‘i State Art Museum Facebook page.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Kaskade

2017 Electric Palms Music Festival

Friday, June 2 and Saturday, June 3, 5 p.m. to midnight

Are you ready to rage? For those of you who live for the weekends, BAMP Project offers a very good reason to stay out late this Friday and Saturday. (Two days in a row? You party animal, you.) The Electric Palms Music Festival, BAMP’s biggest EDM music fest, is back at Kaka‘ako with a lineup of some of electronic music’s biggest names. Headliners include Kaskade, Seven Lions and Pat Lok on Friday, and RL Grime, Getter and Tokimonsta Saturday. Single-day tickets are available, but, if your schedule allows, we say go big or go home. For those who only care about hearing “Atmosphere” spun live by the OG, purchase tickets to Kaskade Redux, a special DJ set happening this Thursday at The Republik.

$65–$230, Pow! Wow! Harbor, 1011 Ala Moana Blvd. For more information and to purchase tickets, go here.

Habilitat’s 17^th Annual Lūʻau, Auction and Benefit Concert

Saturday, June 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Not to sound like a pua‘a, but we just can’t resist a good lūʻau. And we can’t think of a better place for ‘ono grinds than at Habilitat’s annual fundraiser, taking place this Saturday at the beautiful Kualoa Ranch. Habilitat is a nonprofit dedicated to long-term addiction treatment and has helped victims of addiction overcome their substance abuse problems for almost half a century. Its annual lūʻau is one of the biggest on O‘ahu, and you’re fully expected to come hungry for a feast of beef stew, chicken long rice, kālua pig, squid lūʻau and more. Try to avoid the onset of a kanak attack, because there’s a lot more to enjoy: live entertainment by Taimane Gardner, Peni Dean and Malu Productions; a gigantic live and silent auction offering more than 500 items up for bid; and an area just for the keiki, with face painting, inflatable bouncers, caricature drawings and more. While you’re gorging on poi and lomi salmon, remember to give yourself a pat on the back (or stomach) for supporting a very worthy cause.

$20–$325, Kualoa Ranch, 49-560 Kamehameha Highway. For more information on this event, go here.

Looking for more things to do this month? Click here for more events.