56 upcoming · checked by a human
Free Events on Oʻahu
Everything on our calendar that costs nothing to attend — free hula, night markets, lunchtime concerts, museum free days and the weekly cultural lessons in Waikīkī. If a venue charges for parking or needs a reservation we say so, so free means free.
FreeFRIDAYS · 9 AM–12 PMIpu o Lono Friday Workday at Hoʻoulu ʻĀinaHoʻoulu ʻĀina · DowntownFreeDetails →Royal Hawaiian Center
FREEFRIDAYS · 11:30 AMLei Making LessonsRoyal Hawaiian Center · WaikikiFREEDetails →ʻIolani Palace
FreeFRIDAYS · 12–1 PM · FREERoyal Hawaiian Band ConcertʻIolani Palace · DowntownFreeDetails →Waikiki Community Center
FreeFRIDAYS · 1:00 PMMexican Train DominoesWaikiki Community Center · WaikikiFreeDetails →Ala Moana Center
FREEDAILY · 3 PMDaily Hula Show at CenterstageAla Moana Center · DowntownFREEDetails →Royal Hawaiian Center
FREETUE–SAT · 5:30 PMLive Hawaiian Music at The Royal GroveRoyal Hawaiian Center · WaikikiFREEDetails →Honolulu Museum of Art
FRIDAYS · UNTIL 9 PMHoMA NightsHonolulu Museum of Art · Downtown$25 · $15 kamaʻāina · free for membersDetails →Honolulu Museum of Art
FRI, OCT 16Bawa's Garden Film NightHonolulu Museum of Art · DowntownFree with registration.Details →Pearlridge Center (Wai Makai, 2nd level)
freeFRIDAYS · 6:00 PMZumba Gold Night ClassPearlridge Center (Wai Makai, 2nd level) · Central OahufreeDetails →Capitol Modern (Hawaii State Art Museum)
SAT, OCT 17Philippine Cuisine Cooking DemonstrationCapitol Modern (Hawaii State Art Museum) · DowntownFree with registration on EventbriteDetails →Pearlridge Center
FREESATURDAYS · 5–9 PMVillage Night MarketPearlridge Center · Central OahuFREEDetails →Waikiki Beach Walk
SUNDAYS · 9–10 AMKa Lei Hula (The Adorned Dance)Waikiki Beach Walk · WaikikiFree · RSVP requiredDetails →Waikiki Beach Walk
SUNDAYS · 9:00 AMKa Lei Hula Free Weekly Hula ClassWaikiki Beach Walk · WaikikiComplimentaryDetails →Honolulu Museum of Art
3RD SUNDAY · 10 AM–2 PMCommunity & Family SundayHonolulu Museum of Art · DowntownFree · Hawaiʻi residentsDetails →Honolulu Museum of Art
SUN, OCT 18Community Sunday: Honolulu PrideHonolulu Museum of Art · DowntownFree admission for Hawaiʻi residents with valid IDDetails →Kāneʻohe Public Library
FreeSUN, OCT 18LEGO Lei Making WorkshopKāneʻohe Public Library · Windward SideFreeDetails →Waikiki Beach Walk
FreeSUN, OCT 18Mele Hali'a (To Recall Fondly)Waikiki Beach Walk · WaikikiFreeDetails →Waikiki Community Center
MONDAYS · 10:45 AMChair YogaWaikiki Community Center · WaikikiFree to registered participantsDetails →Royal Hawaiian Center
FREEMONDAYS · 11:30 AMʻUkulele LessonsRoyal Hawaiian Center · WaikikiFREEDetails →Waikiki Community Center
FreeMONDAYS · 1:30 PMRummikubWaikiki Community Center · WaikikiFreeDetails →Waikiki Beach Walk
MONDAYS · 4–8 PM · FREEWaikiki Makers MarketWaikiki Beach Walk · WaikikiFree to enterDetails →Royal Hawaiian Center
FREETUESDAYS · 11:30 AMHula LessonsRoyal Hawaiian Center · WaikikiFREEDetails →Waikiki Beach WalkFREETUESDAYS · 4:30 PMKū Haʻaheo Hawaiian Music & HulaWaikiki Beach Walk · WaikikiFREEDetails →Royal Hawaiian Center
FreeTUESDAYS · 5:30–6:30 PM · FREEKawika Trask Trio at the Royal GroveRoyal Hawaiian Center · WaikikiFreeDetails →Hoʻoulu ʻĀinaFreeWEDNESDAYS · 9 AM–12 PMLā Mauli Ola Workday at Hoʻoulu ʻĀinaHoʻoulu ʻĀina · DowntownFreeDetails →Hoʻoulu ʻĀina
FreeWEDNESDAYS · 9:00 AMLā Mauli Ola Community WorkdayHoʻoulu ʻĀina · DowntownFreeDetails →Waikiki Community Center
FreeWEDNESDAYS · 10:30 AMScrabbleWaikiki Community Center · WaikikiFreeDetails →Royal Hawaiian Center
FREEWEDNESDAYS · 11:30 AMLauhala Weaving LessonsRoyal Hawaiian Center · WaikikiFREEDetails →Royal Hawaiian Center
WEDNESDAYS · 4–8 PM · FREESunset Rooftop MarketRoyal Hawaiian Center · WaikikiFree to enterDetails →Royal Hawaiian Center
FREETHURSDAYS · 11:30 AMKeiki Hula LessonsRoyal Hawaiian Center · WaikikiFREEDetails →Waikiki Community Center
FreeTHURSDAYS · 2:30 PMStories, Connection & InspirationWaikiki Community Center · WaikikiFreeDetails →Wai Kai
FREETHURSDAYS · 4–8 PMʻOno Grindz & Mākeke Night MarketWai Kai · Leeward SideFREEDetails →Honolulu Museum of Art
THU, OCT 22The ShiningHonolulu Museum of Art · DowntownFree screeningDetails →Paepae o Heʻeia (Heʻeia Fishpond)
Free2ND & 4TH SATURDAY · 8:30 AMCommunity Workday at Heʻeia Fishpond (Paepae o Heʻeia)Paepae o Heʻeia (Heʻeia Fishpond) · Windward SideFreeDetails →Waikiki Community CenterSAT, OCT 24Community Plant SaleWaikiki Community Center · WaikikiFree AdmissionDetails →Honolulu Zoo (Great Lawn)
SAT, OCT 24Octo-Bear-Fest: Boos & BrewsHonolulu Zoo (Great Lawn) · WaikikiAdult General Admission: $20; Adult Brew Ticket: $45; Keiki Admission: $10; Under 2: FreeDetails →Capitol Modern (Hawaii State Art Museum)SAT, OCT 24Bayanihan Closing Celebration & ConcertCapitol Modern (Hawaii State Art Museum) · DowntownFree admissionDetails →Consolidated Theatres Kahala
SUN, OCT 25BTS: The Return with Director Bao NguyenConsolidated Theatres Kahala · Southeast OahuFree (reservation required)Details →Tenney Theatre
SUN, OCT 25Move!Tenney Theatre · DowntownAdults $30; Seniors & Military $25; Children & Students $15; HTY Members Free + $12 tickets for guestsDetails →Pearl at Kalauao
FREELAST WEDNESDAY · 5–9 PMNight Market at Pearl at KalauaoPearl at Kalauao · Central OahuFREEDetails →Pearl at Kalauao
LAST WEDNESDAY · 5:00 PMLast Wednesday Night MarketPearl at Kalauao · Central OahuFREE Parking & AdmissionDetails →Capitol ModernFRI, NOV 6First FridayCapitol Modern · DowntownFree admissionDetails →OurSpace
WED, NOV 1158 Half Bags: Participatory Installation by Ben RooseveltOurSpace · DowntownFree (optional donation)Details →Windward Mall
FREE2ND FRIDAY · 5–9 PMKoʻolau Night MarketWindward Mall · Windward SideFREEDetails →Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi
FreeSAT, NOV 14Craft & Collectibles Fair x Aki MatsuriJapanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi · DowntownFreeDetails →Capitol Modern
SAT, NOV 14Everyone Has a Coastline: Trashion Show & FundraiserCapitol Modern · DowntownCommunity Ticket: Free + optional donation · General Admission: $25 (suggested donation) · VIP 'World of SCH': $150 per person (21+)Details →Honolulu Museum of Art
FreeSUN, NOV 15Community Sunday: CAFF for KidsHonolulu Museum of Art · DowntownFreeDetails →Plantoem
FREE3RD THURSDAY · 7–9 PMJazz & Poetry Night at PlantoemPlantoem · Southeast OahuFREEDetails →Plantoem$0.003RD THURSDAY · 7:00 PMJazz & Poetry NightPlantoem · Southeast Oahu$0.00Details →Honolulu Museum of Art
FRI, NOV 20Sustainability Film Series: The Hidden Lives of WhalesHonolulu Museum of Art · DowntownFree with registration.Details →Capitol ModernFreeFRI, NOV 20Island PulseCapitol Modern · DowntownFreeDetails →Capitol Modern (Hawaii State Art Museum)SAT, NOV 21Super SaturdayCapitol Modern (Hawaii State Art Museum) · DowntownFree admissionDetails →Capitol ModernFRI, DEC 4First FridayCapitol Modern · DowntownFree admissionDetails →Capitol ModernFreeFRI, DEC 18Island PulseCapitol Modern · DowntownFreeDetails →ʻIolani Palace
THU, DEC 31Queen Kapiʻolani's Birthday CelebrationʻIolani Palace · DowntownFree self-led visit for kamaʻāinaDetails →Royal Hawaiian Center
FreeSUN, OCT 18Rooftop StargazingRoyal Hawaiian Center · WaikikiFreeDetails →Free, by what you actually want to do
The free calendar, by rhythm
Most of what's free on Oʻahu repeats, which is good news: you don't have to catch it on one date. There is a free hula show every day at 3 PM on Centerstage at Ala Moana Center; live Hawaiian music in Royal Hawaiian Center's Royal Grove Tuesday to Saturday at 5:30 PM; the O Nā Lani Sunset Stories show at International Market Place Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 PM; Kū Haʻaheo at Waikiki Beach Walk on Tuesdays at 4:30; and the Kūhiō Beach Hula Show on the sand every Saturday at 6:30 PM. That is a free hula or music show within a twenty-minute walk of any Waikīkī hotel on every night of the week — our hula shows guide lays them out day by day.
The night markets are the other free rhythm: Pearlridge's Village Night Market every Saturday, Wai Kai's ʻOno Grindz & Mākeke every Thursday in ʻEwa Beach, and monthly ones at Windward Mall (2nd Friday), Pearl at Kalauao (last Wednesday), Waterfront Plaza (2nd Saturday) and Waikele Center (1st and 3rd Fridays). Free to enter; you pay for the food. Then there are the one-offs that are free by nature — the Royal Hawaiian Band's Friday noon concerts on the ʻIolani Palace lawn, First Friday in Chinatown, HoMA's free Community Sunday for Hawaiʻi residents on the third Sunday of each month, and Ward Village's Aloha Friday music on the third Friday.
At a glance
- Free every day
- Daily Hula Show, Centerstage at Ala Moana Center, 3 PM
- Free lessons, no booking
- Royal Hawaiian Center, weekdays 11:30 AM: ʻukulele, hula, lauhala, keiki hula, lei making
- Night markets we track
- Six recurring — two weekly (Pearlridge Sat, Wai Kai Thu), four monthly
- Free for residents
- HoMA Community & Family Sunday, 3rd Sunday 10 AM–2 PM, bring Hawaiʻi ID
What “free” means on this page
Free here means no ticket and no admission charge, checked against the venue's own listing by a person. It does not promise free parking (Ala Moana and Royal Hawaiian Center validate with purchase; ʻIolani Palace street parking is metered) and it does not include events that are “free with admission” — those are listed with the admission price. Where an event is free only for Hawaiʻi residents, like HoMA's Community Sunday, we say so. If you want free things that aren't events — trails, gardens, beaches, the museums' free days — the free things to do guide is the fuller list.