This week, a blood worm moon filled the night sky, the Hōkūleʻa dropped by, and Hilo prepared for a marquee hula festival.
As part of the 50th anniversary of the Hōkule’a, the canoe’s masts were lowered and placed on the deck so that the vessel could pass under the Ala Moana Bridge at low tide. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025)The Hōkūle’a was guided down the Ala Wai canal to be docked outside the Hawaii Convention Center at the Grand Stairway.(David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025)The Honolulu Festival concluded a week of celebrations with a parade on Kalakaua Avenue, which included a group of hula dancers from Waseda University. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025)A unicyclist in the Honolulu Festival parade has her hands full, pushing her bubble-blowing child in a decorated stroller while balancing on a single wheel. David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025The Honolulu Festival concluded with a firework show choreographed by Nagaoke Fireworks. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025)The 15-minute firework display at Waikīkī beach capped the 29th annual Honolulu Festival. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025)Lead carpenter Joey Kaua drives a forklift with a section of the 62nd Annual Merrie Monarch Festival stage in Hilo’s Edith Kanakaole Stadium. The hula festival runs April 20-26. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)Carpenters built the Merrie Monarch Festival stage — a focal point of the marquee hula festival — using overlap joints for the stage surface to sit flush atop the structure’s foundation legs. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)It will take a week to construct the stage and auxiliary structures for the Merrie Merrie Monarch Festival, which starts April 20 in Hilo. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)Librarian Leslie Fukushima sorts books to display Waiākae High School library in Hilo. The library shelves are emptying in the coming months, and Fukushima is looking for a new job, part of a trend of shrinking school libraries in Hawaiʻi. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)Azaleia Young-Kawaʻa, affectionately known as Hunny Bunz, died Wednesday, March 12, in Honolulu, due to injuries the 7-year-old ‘Ewa Beach girl sustained after colliding with an automobile while riding an e-bike on Feb. 27. Hawai’i requires cyclists younger than 16 to wear a properly fitted and fastened helmet. State law also sets 15 as the minimum age to operate an e-bicycle. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)Erica Kawaina’s “Kapa Lele o Hawai’i” stained-glass ceiling in Kaʻahumanu Hale offers a rainbow of colors in a building where the serious business of the First Circuit Court is conducted daily. The colors are intended to resemble a large Hawaiian tapa cloth, which traditionally uses pigments from tropical plants. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)Bougainvillea blooms make First Circuit Court’s Kaʻahumanu Hale in Honolulu more inviting. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)Maui Mayor Richard Bissen receives a lei from Aunty Mopsy Aarona before delivering the state of the county address on Friday, March 7, in Kahului. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)Hālau Nā Lei Kaumaka O Uka performs a hula before Maui Mayor Richard Bissen delivered the state of the county address. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)Maui Mayor Richard Bissen gives the crowd a “Sorry, not sorry!” look after pulling out his ukulele to lead “Hawai’i Aloha” at the end of his state of the county address. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025)The blood worm moon is seen Thursday night during a break in the passing clouds in East Honolulu. (Nathan Eagle/Civil Beat/2025)The MV Janet Marie, built in 2023, is the latest addition to the Pasha Fleet of container ships bringing cargo to Honolulu. The ship, shown leaving Honolulu port on Friday, March 14, is expected to arrive at the port of Oakland on Mar 19. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2025)
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