The 36th installment of the annual Koloa Plantation Days Festival will be held July 23 to Aug. 1, marking a return to in-person activities after last year’s event was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
The 10-day event on Kauai’s southern coast is a celebration of the Garden Isle’s past, when sugar and other crops were major drivers of the economy.<\/p>\n
Koloa Plantation, founded in 1835, was Hawaii’s first sugar plantation where laborers from Asia and Europe lived together in plantation camps sharing food, music, stories and traditions of their homelands.<\/p>\n
The family-oriented festival was founded in 1985 and brings visitors and residents together at over 30 events including live music, storytelling, cultural and children’s activities, area hikes, historic exhibits, the Koloa Plantation Days rodeo, craft fairs, a family fun run and the annual parade and park celebration.<\/p>\n