Residents and visitors are invited to “Experience Volcano” through all of the diverse art, culture, music, activities and food that the community has to offer.
The 5th annual Experience Volcano Festival will feature over 60 vendors and 84 hours of entertainment and content throughout Volcano Village this weekend.
“This is the largest number of vendors we’ve had, and every year we see more attendees,” said Jesse Tunison, president of Experience Volcano Hawaii. “The festival has evolved to include every organization in the community and has become a bit of a summer block party. It’s firmly something our Volcano community looks forward to each year.”
The Volcano Golf Course is the main sponsor for this year’s event and also will be the latest addition to the venues featured during the festival.
“The golf course’s new management is a mainland-based organization, and their local management has been fantastic and very community-oriented,” Tunison said. “It’s nice that this long-standing business has been reinvigorated and has jumped into the community in a big way.”
The golf course’s main events will be the same on Saturday and Sunday, with a Keiki Golf Hour from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. and a Beer Garden from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There also will be three Hawaiian contemporary artists playing live: Kyle Stringz, Ti Chun and Brandon Nakano.
Volcano Garden Arts, Lava Rock Cafe, Kilauea Lodge, Volcano Winery and Volcano Art Center will be the other main venues featured this weekend, stretching Experience Volcano to seven miles in all.
“We aren’t packed in together like a normal festival, which maintains the spirit of what we have to offer up here,” Tunison said. “Volunteers will be stationed throughout Volcano to ensure people are safe and parking is available.”
All of the venues will feature plenty of food trucks and vendors, live music and events, and some will showcase artists in action, keiki activities, Hawaiian cultural and tours.
Those who visit all locations can enter a raffle for dozens of prizes ranging from a two-night stay at a five-star rental, to locally made or grown items from featured vendors.
According to Tunison, Experience Volcano has a $6,400 budget this year, so everyone working the event is volunteering their time before, during and after to make sure as many people can enjoy the two-day festival as possible.
“This is meant to be a true community offering. We do this so people can enjoy themselves and take in all Volcano has to offer,” Tunison said. “We want to ensure people of all backgrounds can have a good time and that money doesn’t have to be spent to have fun.”
Before the festival begins, runners will be participating in the the Ohia Lehua Half Marathon from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, which will close portions of the roads in Volcano Village.
Attendees are asked to drive responsibly throughout the weekend because pedestrians will be utilizing the roads during the race and festival.
Experience Volcano is free from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
For the schedule and locations of events, or to volunteer, visit experiencevolcano.com/experiencevolcanofestival.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
