Free hula shows on Oʻahu, every day of the week

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.

'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.

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).

'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).

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.

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.