Prince Kūhiō Day 2027 · March 26
Prince Kūhiō Day
in Hawaiʻi.
March 26 honors Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole — born on Kauaʻi in 1871, heir to the throne, and the man who fought for Hawaiian homesteading in Congress. Known as Ke Aliʻi Makaʻāinana, the Citizen Prince. Today: the Kauaʻi celebration and hoʻolauleʻa, lei draping at Kūhiō Beach, and canoe regattas across the islands.
The three traditions
What Prince Kūhiō Day looks like
Oʻahu · Waikīkī
Lei Draping at Kūhiō Beach
Lei are draped on the Prince Kūhiō statue at the Waikīkī beach that carries his name, with Hawaiian chant, hula, and members of the Hawaiian Civic Clubs he founded. Free, open to the public.
Kauaʻi · his home island
Kauaʻi Parade & Hoʻolauleʻa
The largest celebrations are on Kauaʻi, where he was born in Kōloa. A week of events builds to a parade and a hoʻolauleʻa — Hawaiian music, hula hālau, crafts, and ʻono local food near his Poʻipū-side birthplace.
Statewide
Canoe Regatta & Hoʻokupu
Outrigger canoe races and hoʻokupu (offerings) honor the prince who helped revive Hawaiian paddling and co-founded the Outrigger Canoe Club — with civic-club ceremonies remembering his legacy of service.
Featured this week
On the calendar
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The history
The Citizen Prince.
Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole was born in Kōloa, Kauaʻi, on March 26, 1871, and named heir to the Hawaiian throne. After the 1893 overthrow of the monarchy, he was imprisoned for a year for his part in the 1895 attempt to restore Queen Liliʻuokalani. Rather than leave in exile, he chose to serve his people from within — elected Hawaiʻi's delegate to the U.S. Congress in 1902, a seat he held until his death in 1922. For working alongside ordinary people, he was called Ke Aliʻi Makaʻāinana, the Citizen Prince.
His enduring legacy is the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920, which set aside some 200,000 acres for Native Hawaiian homesteading. He founded the Hawaiian Civic Clubs and revived the Royal Order of Kamehameha. Prince Kūhiō Day became a state holiday in 1949 — with King Kamehameha Day, one of only two holidays in the United States that honor Hawaiian royalty. He rests at Mauna ʻAla, the Royal Mausoleum in Nuʻuanu.
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