Hukilau Marketplace Celebrates 5th Anniversary With Free holoholo Canoe Tours
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 2020
Lā‘ie, Hawai‘i – Cheers to five amazing years! February marks the fifth anniversary of the opening of Hukilau Marketplace, the Polynesian Cultural Center’s (PCC) fun, welcoming and much-visited collection of 40 retail, dining and activity providers designed as a vintage, enjoyably walkable outdoor goods and cuisine village throwback to 1950s Hawai‘i. And yes, it’s celebrating!
Since its opening in 2015, the Hukilau Marketplace has welcomed more than four million visitors from around the world, offering a diversity of shops and kiosks – filled with souvenirs, aloha wear, island home décor, Polynesian art and more – plus delicious Hawai‘i-inspired cuisine and daily live entertainment.
“It’s been wonderful watching our Hukilau Marketplace grow over the past five years to become a place that surprises first-time visitors and is perennially enjoyed by residents,” said Alfred Grace, president and CEO of the PCC. “We opened this special place to revive the nostalgic days of old Lā‘ie, and I believe we’ve succeeded in bringing that vision to life.”
In celebration of the Marketplace’s fifth-anniversary milestone, visitors during the month of February will be offered a free ride on the PCC’s new Holoholo Canoe Tour. From a dock at the Marketplace, they’ll board a wa‘a (canoe) for a 25-minute guided tour of the Polynesian Cultural Center’s six island villages – Hawai‘i, Samoa, Tonga, Aotearoa, Fiji and Tahiti – for an insider’s overview of all the must-do activities at each. In addition to the free Holoholo Canoe Tour, restaurants and shops at Hukilau Marketplace will be offering anniversary specials throughout the month.
“There is a deep tie between Hukilau Marketplace and the Polynesian Cultural Center that can be traced back to the 1940s, when Lā‘ie’s famed hukilau celebrations began raising money for our community,” said Kahili Soon, senior manager of Hukilau Marketplace. “We are so happy this namesake destination keeps memories of those hukilau celebrations alive and thriving for modern-day guests and continues to bring together O‘ahu visitors and community members alike.”
The Hukilau Marketplace is open Mondays through Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and closed Sundays. Admission and parking are free.
For more information about the Hukilau Marketplace, visit hukilaumarketplace.com. For more information about the Polynesian Cultural Center, visit polynesia.com or call (808) 293-3333.
ABOUT POLYNESIAN CULTURAL CENTER
Located on O‘ahu’s beautiful North Shore, the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) is the only cultural tourist attraction of its kind in the world and a favorite of all visitors to Hawaii. An engaging, interactive celebration showcasing the people, culture, arts and crafts of Polynesia, the PCC has entertained millions of visitors from around the world since opening in 1963. A non-profit organization, 100 percent of PCC’s revenue goes to daily operations and to support the education of its student-employees from neighboring Brigham Young University-Hawaii. For more information, visit www.Polynesia.com.
ABOUT HUKILAU MARKETPLACE
Hukilau Marketplace, at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Lā‘ie, is a vintage throwback to 1950s Hawaii offering nostalgic food, local goods and everyone-is-family hospitality. Whether you stop in weekly or on your Oahu vacation, the Hukilau Marketplace takes you by the elbow, puts you at ease, and invites you to experience the aloha of our quaint, century-old community. For more about the Hukilau Marketplace, visit www.HukilauMarketplace.com.
MEDIA CONTACT
Kellene Young
Anthology Marketing Group
Kellene.Young@AnthologyGroup.com
(808) 539-3489