You do not need a lūʻau ticket to see hula in Honolulu. Between the shopping centres, the beach and the hotels, there is a free public hula show or live Hawaiian music set within a short walk of Waikīkī on every night of the week — and one every single afternoon at Ala Moana. This page reads them straight from our events database, so the times, the dark nights and the “next one” are computed now, not typed last spring.
Next up
Sunset Stories Torch Lighting & Hula Show — Friday at 12:00 AM
International Market Place
International Market Place
Each evening just after sundown, the Lamaku torch tower is ceremonially lit, followed by a storytelling show of Hawaiian and Polynesian song and dance honoring Queen Emma. It takes place nightly on the Kalākaua Avenue side of the open-air mall.
ʻIolani Palace · 364 S King St, Honolulu, HI 96813
The Royal Hawaiian Band plays free on the ʻIolani Palace grounds on Friday lunchtimes, noon to one. Founded in 1836 under Kamehameha III, it is the only band in the United States established by a monarch and it has been playing public concerts here for the better part of two centuries. Bring something to sit on — the audience spreads out on the lawn under the trees, and the coronation bandstand carries without amplification. Free, no ticket, and the schedule pauses for state occasions and holidays, so check the palace calendar before you make a special trip. Route 2 or 13 to Punchbowl and King, or a short walk from Chinatown.
Ala Moana Center · 1450 Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96814
A free hula show every day at 3 PM on Centerstage — the open-air stage on the mall level of Ala Moana Center, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd. No ticket, and the only daily hula show on our calendar (Royal Hawaiian Center's Royal Grove music runs Tue–Sat, Sunset Stories at International Market Place is Mon/Wed/Fri, Kūhiō Beach is Saturdays). Easiest free hula to fit around a shopping or lunch stop.
Royal Hawaiian Center · 2201 Kalākaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815
Live Hawaiian music in the Royal Grove — the open-air garden stage at Royal Hawaiian Center, 2201 Kalākaua Ave in Waikīkī — Tuesday to Saturday at 5:30 PM. Free, no ticket, just find a spot on the lawn. Runs year-round; the only Waikīkī hula/music show on our calendar that runs five nights a week (Sunset Stories at International Market Place is Mon/Wed/Fri, Kūhiō Beach is Saturdays).
International Market Place · 2330 Kalākaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815
'O Nā Lani Sunset Stories' — a free hula and storytelling show at International Market Place, 2330 Kalākaua Ave in Waikīkī — every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 PM, at the Queen's Court by the banyan tree. One of four free Waikīkī hula/music shows on our calendar; the others are Royal Grove (Tue–Sat 5:30 PM), Kūhiō Beach (Sat 6:30 PM) and Kū Haʻaheo at Waikiki Beach Walk (Tue 4:30 PM).
Waikiki Beach Walk · 226 Lewers St, Honolulu, HI 96815
'Kū Haʻaheo' — free live Hawaiian music and hula at Waikiki Beach Walk's plaza stage, 226 Lewers St — every Tuesday at 4:30 PM, open-air. One of four free Waikīkī hula/music shows on our calendar, and the earliest in the evening; Royal Grove (5:30 PM), Sunset Stories (6 PM) and Kūhiō Beach (6:30 PM Sat) follow.
Royal Hawaiian Center
The Kawika Trask Trio plays Hawaiian music in The Royal Grove on Tuesday evenings, 5:30–6:30 pm. An easy pre-dinner stop in central Waikīkī.
Royal Hawaiian Center
Puʻuhonua Trio performs Hawaiian music in The Royal Grove courtyard on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 pm, part of the center's weekly evening music series.
Kūhiō Beach Hula Mound · Kalākaua Ave at Uluniu Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815
The Kūhiō Beach Hula Show — free hula and Hawaiian music on the beach at the Kūhiō Beach hula mound, Kalākaua Ave at Uluniu Ave — every Saturday at 6:30 PM (dark on Sep 19, Oct 17 and Oct 31 this season). Bring a mat, it's on the sand at sunset. The only free hula show on our calendar that's actually on the beach; the others are in shopping centres.
Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikīkī runs a free cultural lesson every weekday at 11:30 AM; the hula ones are below. No booking, no cost, about an hour.
Ka Lei Hula Free Weekly Hula Class
SUNDAYS · 9:00 AM · Waikiki Beach Walk
Ka Lei Hula (The Adorned Dance)
SUNDAYS · 9–10 AM · Waikiki Beach Walk
TUESDAYS · 11:30 AM · Royal Hawaiian Center
THURSDAYS · 11:30 AM · Royal Hawaiian Center
Which one to pick. If you want hula on the actual beach, it is Kūhiō Beach on Saturday evening — the only one on the sand, and the one with sunset behind the dancers. If you want it on any given weeknight, the Royal Grove and Sunset Stories between them cover Monday to Saturday. If you are on a schedule, the Ala Moana show is at 3 PM every single day and is the easiest to hit.
Dark nights. The Kūhiō Beach show skips a handful of Saturdays a year (holidays, weather); the dates we know about are listed on each show above and are baked into the “next” date, so the guide will not send you to an empty hula mound. If a venue posts a change we update the row and this page changes with it.
Parking. Ala Moana and Royal Hawaiian Center have paid garages with validation; the Kūhiō Beach show is a walk-up — park where you would for the beach. Bring something to sit on for the outdoor ones.
Related: all free events, Oʻahu after dark, lei making. Every listing here was checked by a person against the venue's own page — how we verify.
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