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| Here's how one artist envisions Honolulu Harbor. A Nov. 11 party is scheduled in recognition of an Island hub that connected with every part of Hawai'i's diverse background.
Artist's rendering • Padraic Shigetani/Honolulu Harbor Festival |
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There's a new festival to get excited about.
It will be a celebration of the state's history and lifeline, a recognition of an Island hub that connected with every part of Hawai'i's diverse cultural background, a salute to an aspect of Island life that began 1,000 years before Columbus.
In short, there's going to be a big party on the waterfront.
The Honolulu Harbor Festival is scheduled for Nov. 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and organizers hope it will be the kind of event that will attract up to 10,000 people.
"The festival is to honor the harbor," said Anne Smoke, an Aloha Tower Marketplace spokeswoman. "Every culture oriented to this Island has come through that harbor."
The day will include free tours of cruise ships, longline fishing boats and other vessels that may include a U.S. Coast Guard rescue cutter and a Navy destroyer.
"The harbor is an intricate part of the transportation network," said Tim Guard, president and general manager of McCabe, Hamilton & Renny and one of the organizers, "Ninety percent of the things we need come through the harbor."
There will be displays of fishing gear, diving gear, refrigerated shipping containers and other harbor equipment. Booths will offer information, story telling, face painting and free beverages.
Free harbor trolley and Wiki-Wiki Ferry tours will be offered.
In honor of Armed Forces Day, there will be a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party from aboard the Falls of Clyde and visitors can discuss the birth of a democracy with Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere and the Founding Fathers.
Children can participate in a treasure hunt that will take them through some of the harbor area's main attractions, and end with the winners diving into treasure chests for armloads of goodies.
The Honolulu Advertiser is one of the event sponsors, and will set up a booth featuring 144 years of waterfront news coverage.
"People just take the harbor for granted until there is a strike," said Advertiser columnist Bob Krauss, who came up with the idea for the festival. "That harbor is the heart of Hawai'i."
Perhaps the most interesting attraction, however, will take place within the harbor itself.
"We have tugs known as tractor tugs. They are considerably more maneuverable, and we're going to have a hula competition with the tugs," said Mark Cohen, vice president of maritime operations of Hawaiian Tug & Barge.
Several tug companies are preparing to compete.
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