Honolulu City Lights Is Back on One Lawn This Year, and Kapolei Lights Up First
Which park do you drive to for Honolulu City Lights this year? In 2025 that was a real question. The light tunnel and keiki train sat at Thomas Square while Shaka Santa stayed at Honolulu Hale, and opening night came the Saturday after Thanksgiving. For 2026 the answer is simpler, and the calendar has moved back with it. Everything returns to the Frank F. Fasi Civic Center Grounds, opening night is Saturday, December 5, and Kapolei Hale lights its tree a full week earlier.
In October 2025, Hawaii News Now reported that construction on the Fasi Civic Center grounds was pushing some of the city's Christmas decorations to Thomas Square. Crews fenced the central fountain for a deep cleaning and hung ornaments there through November.
The City made the split part of the show. Its November 2025 announcement described Thomas Square lighting up at the same moment as the Honolulu Hale tree, the first time in the event's history that both parks were lit together. Mike Gangloff's Show Aloha Land filled the historic square with light tunnels, illuminated trees, keiki train rides, vendors and Santa. The traditional Civic Grounds pieces stayed put, including Shaka Santa and Tūtū Mele, both brought by the Friends of Honolulu City Lights. That year's theme, "Navigating by the Stars," honored the 50th anniversary of Hōkūleʻa.
The date was unusual too. Here are opening nights from the City's own releases over four years:
Three of those four fall on the first Saturday of December. The one that doesn't, 2025, is also the year the displays were split between two parks. Anyone who planned around last year's Thanksgiving-weekend opening will be a week early this time.
On October 19, City crews started installing displays on the Fasi grounds. According to the City's announcement, Gangloff and his sponsors are bringing Show Aloha Land back to the Civic Center Grounds for the 42nd anniversary. The free displays include a lighted tunnel, illuminated trees across the grounds, a train for keiki rides, and festive motifs along Alapaʻi and Beretania Streets. They join the Friends of Honolulu City Lights favorites: Shaka Santa, Tūtū Mele, the ABC Blocks and the Gnomes.
In 2024 the City put Gangloff's donated displays on the Fasi grounds, including 250 feet of light tunnels. So 2026 looks like 2024 again, with one difference: the light tunnel, the train and Shaka Santa now share a single walk.
| 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Opening night | Saturday, Nov. 29 | Saturday, Dec. 5 |
| Show Aloha Land | Thomas Square Park | Fasi Civic Center Grounds |
| Theme | "Navigating by the Stars" | "Christmas in the Country" |
| Honolulu Hale tree | 55-foot Cook pine | 50 feet |
The theme sets the dress code. The City's release says to "bust out your boots, cowboy hats, Western belt buckles, and palaka prints" for "Christmas in the Country." Inside Honolulu Hale, the City Department Tree Exhibit features trees handcrafted by staff from 26 City departments.
When Honolulu moves back a week, the Saturday after Thanksgiving goes to Leeward Oʻahu. Kapolei City Lights, run by the Department of Parks and Recreation since 2001, opens Saturday, November 28.
Its theme is "Paniolo Nights & Holiday Lights," with slack-key guitar, seasonal treats and decorations drawn from Hawaiʻi's paniolo heritage. The DPR page says the theme was chosen to complement Honolulu's "Christmas in the Country," so both civic centers are going country this year.
The Kapolei evening has its own shape. A block party runs 5 to 9 p.m. on the streets around Kapolei Hale, with local vendors, a holiday car showcase and live music. The parade has historically started at 5:30 p.m. at Kapolei High School, led by the Royal Hawaiian Band, heading up Fort Barrette Road, turning left on Kapolei Parkway and ending at Kamaʻaha Avenue. Kapolei Hale has its own 50-foot tree outside and community tree displays inside. Bring picnic mats for the open-air courtyard.
The bigger difference is how long it stays up. Kapolei's decorations run from November 28 through Sunday, January 3, 2027, about five weeks. Honolulu's run from December 5 through the end of December is closer to four. So Kapolei opens first and is still lit after the Honolulu Hale displays come down. Anyone with family arriving the week after Christmas can still take them to a city lighting.
The morning after its opening, Kapolei holds a volunteer cleanup with the Department of Facility Maintenance on Sunday, November 29, from 8:30 to 11 a.m. at Kapolei Hale. Sign-up is through the DPR page.
With everything on one lawn, opening night at Honolulu Hale is easier to plan. The City's schedule starts with a block party at 4 p.m. on Punchbowl Street and across the Fasi grounds. The Public Workers' Electric Light Parade leaves ʻAʻala Park at 6 p.m., and Mayor Rick Blangiardi lights the tree and grounds as the parade passes Honolulu Hale. The official Honolulu City Lights FAQ has the first parade units reaching Honolulu Hale around 6:30 p.m.
For the parade itself, the FAQ says crowds are smaller along King Street in Chinatown and Downtown between River Street and Fort Street Mall, where parking and restaurants are close by. The biggest crowd gathers in front of Honolulu Hale and fills both sides of King Street between Bishop and Punchbowl. The FAQ also warns against watching past Honolulu Hale, between Alapaʻi and Kawaiahaʻo Streets. Bands stop performing there to board their buses and the vehicle units park, so you may miss both.
Plan your parking as carefully as your viewing spot:
The Fasi grounds are open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. through December, and entry is free. The Friends of Honolulu City Lights and the City and County of Honolulu present it as a gift to the community. The 50-foot tree and the outdoor decorations switch on around 6 p.m. each night and stay lit until about 6 a.m., so a predawn drive down Beretania still catches them. Food vendors return to the grounds from December 6 through December 30, 6 to 9 p.m.
If your household makes wreaths, this year's contest asks for "Christmas in the Country" designs. Entries are due Monday, November 30, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lane Gallery inside Honolulu Hale, two days after Kapolei opens and five days before Honolulu does. Rules and entry forms come from the Mayor's Office of Culture and the Arts at (808) 768-4105.
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