The Kona Coffee Festival Moves Upslope This November

Where does the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival end this year? In 2025 the Grand Finale was at Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa in Keauhou, and the cupping awards were at Kona Elks Lodge on Hualalai Road. For the 55th festival, which runs November 6 through 15, the Grand Finale moves to The Theatery and Hale Cocoa in Kainaliu, and the cupping awards move to the Buddhas Cup Sanctuary Event Space in Holualoa.

The festival opens a week from tomorrow. This year two of its marquee events take place in the coffee belt, among the farms that grow the coffee being judged and toasted. The organizers haven't said why the venues changed. The timing still matters, because these are the same upland farms that spent the late summer cutting up fallen trees.

Two Venues Moved, and Both Are Upslope

The festival's official schedule shows the changes most clearly when set beside the 2025 festival magazine.

The Grand Finale on Saturday, November 14 is now a smaller event. The event page lists general admission at $150 plus the $10 festival button, capped at 150 guests. Six tables of 10 are offered at $1,500. The evening includes two drink tickets, a chef-curated multicourse "Taste of Kona" menu, a dessert table, a silent auction, and dancing to Ms. Demeanor & the Felons, which the page describes as a high-energy, soulful Kona band. It is an adults-only event. When this page was last updated, it said tickets would be available soon through the festival website, so a 150-seat cap is worth acting on early.

The cupping competition changed too. Under the 2026 rules, entries fall into two divisions, Kona Heritage and Kona Creative, and an entrant could submit one coffee in each. Entries were capped at 70, cost $150 each, and were due between September 27 and October 16, so the field is set. The 2025 guide grouped awards as Heritage, Classic, Crown and Artisanal. The Kona Coffee Farmers Association's October newsletter confirmed that the rules had changed. The results will be announced Sunday, November 15, from 1 to 3 p.m. in Holualoa. Admission requires a button for anyone over 12.

The Same Slopes Had a Hard August

Those Holualoa awards follow a difficult stretch for the area. After Hurricane Lala, Hawaiʻi Public Radio quoted Hawaii Coffee Association executive director Abigail Munoz saying that in Holualoa, "particularly on the mauka side, some farmers are reporting the loss of 20% or more of their coffee trees, mostly caused by larger downed trees." The same story noted how long that kind of loss lasts, since a replacement tree takes three or four years to produce any coffee and about five to produce a good harvest.

The worst damage was further south. West Hawaii Today reported heavy losses on Kaʻu farms just before peak harvest, with some A Coffee Farm lots losing 50 to 60 percent of their trees. Kona farmer Bill Myers told the paper the damage didn't then look large enough to change Kona's harvest, and that growers were aiming for a good crop. A month later, Hawaii News Now reported that back-to-back storms during peak harvest had stripped ripening cherries, uprooted trees and added to growers' power and operating costs.

By October, the Kona Coffee Farmers Association sounded steadier. In the October newsletter, the president wrote that Hurricane Nolo gave everyone "a scare" but that Kona was spared the worst, while Kaʻu dealt with heavy rain and cleanup. He also wrote that in Kona, "we've traded stormwatching for the busy rhythm of picking season." So the festival arrives in the middle of a harvest that some upland farms reached only after weeks of clearing debris. Many of this year's events take place on those farms or along their roads.

The Schedule, Mapped by Where It Happens

The festival calendar is easier to plan by location than by date. It falls into three areas.

Kailua Village and the coast

• Opening night, Friday Nov. 6. The Made in Hawaiʻi Artisan Market runs 2 to 9 p.m. at Hale Halawai County Pavilion. The Lantern Parade goes from Kailua Pier to Hale Halawai from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by the Multicultural Showcase from 7 to 9 p.m.
• Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa. The UCC Miss Kona Coffee Scholarship Competition is Nov. 7. On Nov. 8 the resort hosts the KTA Super Stores Kona Coffee Recipe Contest & Big Island Showcase from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., then the Little Miss Kona Coffee Scholarship Pageant, with doors at 4:30 p.m.
• Midweek evenings in town. The Kona Coffee Latte Art Throw Down is at Kona Coffee & Tea on Nov. 12 from 6 to 9 p.m., and Chamber Music Night is at Mokuaikaua Church the same evening from 7 to 9 p.m. Kona's Got Talent Showcase is at Keauhou Shopping Center on Nov. 13 from 6 to 8 p.m.
• Saturday Nov. 14. The 100% Pure Kona Coffee Half Marathon starts at 6 a.m. from Coconut Grove Marketplace. The Hoʻolauleʻa runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Makaeʻo County Pavilion at the Old Airport and is sponsored by Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union.
• Sunday Nov. 15. The Chamber Orchestra of Kona plays Dvorak and Tchaikovsky at Kona Elks Lodge from 3 to 5 p.m. That makes the Elks Lodge part of closing day again, now with a concert instead of the awards.

Holualoa

• The Holualoa Coffee and Art Stroll, Saturday Nov. 7, in Historic Holualoa Village. The event page lists 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and says up to 25 farms will pour samples, and visitors can vote for their favorite. Parking is limited, so carpooling is recommended, and shuttles run from the Holualoa Elementary parking lot and the Imin Center.
• Donkey Mill Art Center. Cultural Activities & Demos run Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the center's exhibition runs Nov. 11 through 14.
• Farm visits. UCC Hawaii's Kona Coffee Picking & Farm Experience runs Nov. 9 through 13 at 9:30 and 11 a.m. at the UCC Hawaii Kona Coffee Estate and is free with a button. Buddha's Cup hosts tastings on the same weekdays.
• The cupping awards close the festival on Nov. 15.

Kainaliu, Kealakekua and Captain Cook

• Greenwell Farms' Seed to Cup Farm Tour runs Nov. 9 through 13 at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. in Kealakekua and is free with a button.
• The Kona Historical Society's Kona Coffee Living History Farm Tour runs Nov. 6, 10 and 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Captain Cook. Admission is $15, or $10 for Hawaiʻi residents, plus the button, sold on-site.
• The Theatery hosts the 5 Course Coffee-Flavored Supper Club on Nov. 9 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., limited to 36 guests. It also hosts the Grand Finale with Hale Cocoa on Nov. 14.
• Hale Cocoa holds the Kona Espresso Martini & Coffee Cocktail Competition on Nov. 11 from 5 to 7 p.m.

Several other weekday events round out the schedule. Island Sun Coffee runs "Farming Kona Coffee with Diversified Crops" from Nov. 6 to 14. Hala Tree Coffee offers weekday tours Nov. 6 through 13, and Doutor Coffee's "Mauka Meadows" tours run Nov. 9 through 13. The Kona Coffee Quilt & Fiber Arts Show runs Nov. 9 through 15. Off the farms, "Old Time Kona Stories, Volume 1" is at Aloha Theatre on Nov. 10, and Nani Keao Mele Mele Concert & Okonomiyaki is at Kona Hongwanji Buddhist Temple Social Hall on Nov. 11. On Nov. 8, the Pickle & Pour Pickleball Tournament at Holua Racquet & Paddle costs $50 with a button included.

The Weekdays Are When the Farms Are Open

The two weekends draw the crowds, with the Stroll, the parade, the Hoʻolauleʻa and the Grand Finale. The farm tours mostly run Monday, November 9, through Friday, November 13. That is when Greenwell, UCC Hawaii, Buddha's Cup and Doutor open their gates, and most of those visits cost nothing beyond the $10 button. For anyone who lives here and can spare a weekday morning, that week is the best time to see the coffee belt during harvest.

A few practical details make planning easier. Buttons are sold at every festival event and at listed retail locations. Children 5 and under are free, which is a tighter cutoff than last year's 12 and under. As of its September update, the Miss Kona Coffee page still listed tickets as "TBA," so check it again before November 7. The Stroll's Saturday shuttles from Holualoa Elementary and the Imin Center are the simplest way into a village with very little parking.

If the Stroll or a weekday farm tour gets you curious about how Holualoa and the Kainaliu stretch of the coffee belt fit together, Deborah Thompson is happy to share what she knows about these upland communities, over a cup of this year's harvest if you like. Let's Connect.