What the Lanikai Craft Fair Pays For, and the Windward Holiday Weeks Around It
November 12, 2026
November 12, 2026
The Lanikai Craft Fair takes over Lanikai Park on Saturday, Nov. 21. It is one of the few Windward holiday markets where the money stays on the street where it's spent. The Lanikai Association runs the fair as a fundraiser, and its proceeds help maintain the park and the neighborhood's beach access paths. Most people walk those paths without knowing who keeps them up. In Lanikai, the community does.
The weeks around the fair are full on the Windward side. Kailua Town's Holiday Sip + Shop is tonight, Thursday, Nov. 12, a free concert in a parking garage follows on Saturday, Nov. 14, and the Kāneʻohe Christmas Parade comes in early December. The craft fair falls in the middle, and getting there takes a little more planning than the others.
The Lanikai Association says the community has worked to protect its quality of life since the Association was founded in 1927. Much of that work is physical upkeep. According to the Association, Lanikai Park and its playground are privately owned, open to the public and maintained with members' money. The fair itself happens in the park at the end of each year.
The beach accesses work the same way. The Association says most of them are privately owned and maintained by the community. It counts 11 access points, and shifting sand means only five or six still reach the beach. As the Association's visitor page puts it, Lanikai Beach "is not a beach park." There are no parking lots, restrooms or concession stands, and all the land beside the beach is private homes across a community of about 800 houses.
Hawaii Parent's 2026 craft fair guide describes more than 80 local vendors selling handmade, Made-in-Hawaiʻi crafts, along with food vendors and baked goods. Admission is free. Honolulu Magazine's holiday market roundup also lists more than 80 vendors and the same purpose: keeping up Lanikai Park and the neighborhood's beach access points. Every purchase at those 80-plus tables helps pay for the paths you walk to reach the sand.
The Association's community calendar lists the Lanikai Craft Fair for Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026. Hawaii Parent lists the hours as 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Association's craft fair page and its Instagram, @lanikaiassociation, are the places to check for final times and details before you go.
Two of the park's year-round rules apply on fair day too. Dogs are not allowed in the park, and the park can be rented only by Association members.
Getting to the fair is harder than shopping at it. The Association's advice is the same for fair day as for any other day: bike, bus or walk. Its visitor page lists these options:
If you drive into Lanikai, the Association says parking is never allowed on the side of the loop with the bike path, and that police enforcement and towing are strict because crowded streets can block emergency vehicles. Its traffic management page lists the Special Enforcement District hours, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on long weekends, and the fines.
The date helps. Nov. 21 is the Saturday before Thanksgiving, so it is not a holiday weekend. The next weekend is. On holiday weekends, the Association says, parking is not allowed on any Lanikai street. Anyone planning a Lanikai beach morning over Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 26 to 29, should take the bus or park at Kailua Beach Park. This is general information, not legal advice. The Association's pages and posted street signs are the rules to follow on the day.
The craft fair sits in a run of Windward events that starts tonight, Nov. 12. Each one is a reason to be in Kailua town or nearby on a specific date.
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 12, 4–7 p.m. | Holiday Sip + Shop | Check-in outside the Lau Hala Shops lobby, Kailua | Ticketed |
| Fri., Nov. 13, 5–9 p.m. | Koʻolau Night Market | Windward Mall, 45-056 Kamehameha Highway, Kāneʻohe | Free |
| Sat., Nov. 14, 4–5:30 p.m. | Kanikapila garage concert with Kalaʻe & Kalena Parrish | Kailua parking garage behind Longs/CVS | Free |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Lanikai Craft Fair | Lanikai Park | Free |
| Sun., Nov. 29 | Aloha Home Market | 340 Uluniu St., Kailua | Free |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m. road closures | Kāneʻohe Christmas Parade | Windward Mall to Castle High School | Free |
| Sun., Dec. 6, 13 and 20 | Aloha Home Market | 340 Uluniu St., Kailua | Free |
| Sat., Dec. 12, 4–5:30 p.m. | Kanikapila garage concert with The Hawaiian Jukebox | Kailua parking garage behind Longs/CVS | Free |
Alexander & Baldwin presents the Holiday Sip + Shop from 4 to 7 p.m. Check in outside the Lau Hala Shops lobby near UFC Gym, then visit more than 30 local businesses. Food and drink come from 10 Empanadas, Aloha Graze Co., Bar Coco, Island Popper Popcorn, Kalele Eats and Mochi Momma. Performers include the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, The Brewz, Jason Arcilla, Micah Ganiron, Anthony Pfluke, Clara Stegall and Johnny Helm. Tickets are sold through the Kailua Town event page.
The Koʻolau Night Market runs at Windward Mall in Kāneʻohe on Friday, Nov. 13, from 5 to 9 p.m. Island Craft Fairs lists food trucks, local artisans, giveaways and live entertainment, and admission is free. On Saturday afternoon, Nov. 14, Kailua Town's free Kanikapila music series brings Kalaʻe & Kalena Parrish to the parking garage behind Longs/CVS from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The series returns Dec. 12 with The Hawaiian Jukebox.
Honolulu Magazine's guide lists the Aloha Home Market at 340 Uluniu St. on four Sundays: Nov. 29 and Dec. 6, 13 and 20, each from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free, and the market has local makers, furniture, art and jewelry. Check the dates with Aloha Home Market before you go. The Nov. 29 date falls on Thanksgiving weekend, when Lanikai streets are closed to parking. A Kailua town market that Sunday works well with taking the bus to the beach.
The regular weekly markets continue through the season. The Farm Lovers KailuaTown Farmers' Market runs Sundays from 8 a.m. to noon at 640 Ulukahiki St., next to Adventist Health Castle.
The 62nd Kāneʻohe Christmas Parade is Saturday, Dec. 5. It starts at Windward Mall and ends at Castle High School. The City's 2026 street-use schedule shows the route running along Kamehameha Highway and Kāneʻohe Bay Drive, with roads closed from about 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The City expects about 1,800 marchers, 23 floats and seven bands. If you're driving from Kailua to anywhere past Windward Mall that morning, leave before 9 a.m. or after the roads reopen.
A free Saturday market in Lanikai Park helps keep public beach paths open in a neighborhood with no beach park. Taking Route 671 or walking in from Kailua Beach Park on Nov. 21 lets the fair do that without adding cars to the loop.
If you're thinking about how Lanikai's privately kept park and paths shape day-to-day life on the loop, Drew Read is glad to talk it through over coffee in Kailua town. Let's Connect.
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