Kona Coffee Cultural Festival 2025

November 7-16, 2025 | Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

At 6 a.m. in the Kona coffee growing area of the Big Island the world is painted in pastels. Clouds cling to the volcanic slopes of Mauna Loa while coffee plants, heavy with ruby-red cherries catch the first golden light of morning. This is harvest season in Kona—and in just a few weeks, the 54th Annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival will be underway.

When Brazilian Coffee Met Hawaiʻi’s Volcanic Soil

The Kona coffee story begins in 1828 with a missionary named Samuel Ruggles. He carried Brazilian coffee cuttings from the Hilo side of the island to the western slopes—introducing arabica coffee to Kona’s mineral-rich volcanic soil.

The coffee trees found an ideal home in this narrow 20-mile strip where trade winds carry salt air, and where the soil—borne of ancient lava flows—nurtures the coffee cherries to perfection.

By the 1870s, the English merchant Henry Nicholas Greenwell had built Kona coffee into a brand that would win hearts (and awards) at the 1873 World’s Fair in Vienna. The future of Kona coffee was just beginning to take shape.

When the coffee market crashed in 1899, large plantations broke into small family farms, just 3 to 5 acres each. Japanese immigrant families, originally brought to work the sugar plantations, found themselves with leases on these coffee parcels. With determination and grit, they began what would become generations of family coffee farming.

After getting their start in 1913, the Uchida family expanded their farmhouse in 1925, raising six children among the coffee trees. They learned exactly when cherries were ready, and their children grew up understanding that coffee wasn’t just a crop—it was a way of life.

More Than Just Coffee in Your Cup

Today, approximately 800 Kona coffee farms continue this family tradition. Mexican and Central American families have joined the Japanese, Filipino, and European families, each becoming a part of Kona’s multicultural coffee community. Like many agricultural industries, Kona coffee farms face ongoing challenges including plant diseases, labor shortages, and changing economic conditions. The 2025 season brought both a promising bumper crop and workforce uncertainties that remind us how interconnected the global coffee community truly is—themes that the Cultural Festival has celebrated for over 50 years through its multicultural showcase and recognition of the diverse hands that bring Kona coffee to the world.

Ten Days of Festival Highlights

Opening Night (November 7)

The festival kicks off with lanterns and stories. The Lantern Parade begins at Kailua Pier at 6 p.m., a river of light flowing toward Hale Halawai County Pavilion. Colorful lanterns glow in the evening darkness while authentic cultural costumes honor Hawaii’s rich multicultural heritage.

Before the parade, spend your afternoon at the Made in Hawaii Artisan Market (2-9 p.m.) where local crafters share their talents and stories. Stay for the Multicultural Showcase (7-10 p.m.)—because this is where you’ll hear everything from slack key to taiko drums.

Coffee and Culture

Wander through historic Holualoa Village for the Holualoa Coffee & Art Stroll (November 9, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.) coffee cup in hand, chatting with farmers about their passion while exploring galleries filled with coffee-themed art. It’s casual and it’s genuine.

The Kona Coffee Living History Farm Tour offer something you won’t find anywhere else in the nation—the only living history coffee farm, affiliated with the Smithsonian. Walk among the coffee trees where the Uchida family lived and worked for decades, see the tools they used, and the farmhouse they lived in.

Cupping Competition

The Kona Coffee Cupping Competition isn’t just about winning. Watching farmers present the coffee they’ve nurtured for months, you’ll understand what “pride in craft” really means. The Latte Art Throwdown brings out the artist in every barista, while the Coffee Recipe Contest at Outrigger Kona Resort proves that creativity and caffeine go very well together.

Tradition Meets Celebration

Don’t miss the Ho’olaule’a Festival on November 15 (9 a.m.-3 p.m.) at Makae’o Pavilion. Enjoy live entertainment, foods that tell stories with every bite, artisan markets where purchases support residents, and that easy, unhurried feeling known as island time.

For the adventurous souls, the 100% Pure Kona Coffee Half Marathon & 5K (November 15, 6 a.m.) offers the chance to run the scenic Kona coast and celebrate with—what else?—a perfect cup of coffee.

Art That Tells Stories

The Kona Coffee Quilt Show (November 10-15) showcases how quilters and fiber artists celebrate coffee heritage through stitch and texture. Each quilt tells a story of creativity and patience that grows both coffee and art. They are accepting entries until October 27, 2025!

At the Donkey Mill Art Center, exhibitions honor traditional Hawaiian arts like kapa making, connecting ancient knowledge with contemporary practice in ways that honor both past and present.

54 Years of Tradition

What makes the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival special isn’t just the events—it’s the feeling. When festival president Val Corcoran talks about her 34 years with the festival, it’s unmistakeable: this isn’t just about promoting coffee, it’s about preserving the culture of people who wake up early to pick coffee, who time their lives around harvest seasons.

This is what 54 years of festival tradition looks like: not just a celebration of coffee, but a celebration of the communities that nurture it and the cultures that shape it. The stories in every cup.

Plan Your Coffee Adventure

Festival Access: A $10 festival button (free for keiki under 10) opens doors to most events across all 10 days. Premium experiences like culinary events have separate ticketing starting at $50.

Getting Your Bearings: Events stretch across the Kona district from Kailua-Kona town to upcountry Holualoa Village, with coffee farms dotting the slopes between. It’s a perfect excuse to explore the famous “Coffee Belt” where some of the world’s finest coffee grows.

Local Tip: Start early. Experience Kona in those magical, golden morning hours when the mist is lifting.

From the first sip at a farm tour to the last dance at the Ho’olaule’a, the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival offers something unique: the chance to taste tradition, learn unique history, and take home stories that’ll make your coffee taste just a little bit richer.

Complete event schedules and tickets: konacoffeefest.com

Mahalo to all the festival organizers and sponsors for keeping this cultural treasure brewing year after year!