Hawaiian Airlines marks 30 years backing Made in Hawaiʻi Festival

Hawaiian Airlines returned as presenting sponsor of the Made in Hawaiʻi Festival last month, extending a partnership that dates to the event's debut in 1995 and has held official airline-sponsor status since 2018. More than 80 Hawaiian employees staffed the carrier's Island Style Mākeke booth during the Aug. 20–23 gathering, which drew festivalgoers to more than 800 vendor stands at Honolulu's waterfront.

The airline's cargo division moved nearly 80,000 pounds of goods across the Islands to help vendors transport their inventory to market, according to Hawaiian. Alisa Onishi, managing director of Hawaiʻi marketing at the carrier, said in a statement that the festival "gives local entrepreneurs a place to share what they create" and that supporting those businesses is "part of how we serve Hawaiʻi."

Hawaiian shared its festival booth with Honolulu-based design firm NOHO Home and accelerator Mana Up, spotlighting exclusive colorways from the co-branded Leihōkū Collection and collaborations with six local makers including soap brand Paper Crane and apparel line AVVA. The festival opened with a VIP Access Night presented by Huakaʻi by Hawaiian, the airline's resident-loyalty program. All 7,000 early-access attendees received a Lola Pilar–designed cooler tote.

Chef demonstrations tied to Hawaiian's inflight menus ran both weekend days. On Saturday, Chef Dell Valdez, who advises on the carrier's international offerings, prepared ʻulu spezzatino with Kahuku corn polenta. On Sunday, Chef Sheldon Simeon — architect of Hawaiian's main-cabin pre-order menu — demonstrated fried garlic noodles and signed copies of his cookbook Ohana Style: Food from Hawaiʻi, for Your Family.

Hawaiian offered discounted cargo rates to festival vendors throughout the month and extended special baggage allowances to artisans traveling between islands for the event, the airline said.