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HONOLULU’S 64 year-old Aloha Festivals is the oldest and largest Hawaiian cultural
celebration in the United States. What is known today as Aloha Festivals was created in 1946, as
Aloha Week - a cultural celebration of Hawai'i’s music, dance and history intended to perpetuate
our unique traditions. A group of former Jaycees - known as the Jaycees Old-timers of Hawai'i -
had the vision to create a public celebration to honor Hawai'i’s cosmopolitan heritage, yet created
a celebration which has itself become a state-wide tradition.
Aloha Week became Aloha Festivals in 1991. Aloha Festivals has become a celebration of our Hawaiian
culture. Integrated into the culture are many island traditions and customs of each of the Hawaiian
islands. Thousands of volunteers labor together each year to stage the events, which are attended
statewide by nearly a million people – it is a festival truly of the people of Hawai'i by the people
of Hawai'i. The festivals are funded through the sale of Aloha Festivals ribbons and merchandise,
and via corporate and private donations. As a 501©3 corporation, donations are tax deductible and welcomed.
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