+1-786-628-7980
Sign Up/Sign In 
Kalama WA – Area residents and visitors will be treated to a wide range of entertainment, food, and learning experiences as this year’s Kalama Heritage Festival kicks off its 10 Annual Event, August 6. Guests can enjoy traditional Hawaiian musical performers, local Native and Hawaiian bands, shop local vendors, and enjoy many more fun activities, shop and events. This year’s festival is free to attend including concerts by local musicians and special musical guests traveling from Hawaii.
Some highlights attendees can look forward to seeing include Ora Nui Tahitian dance troupe, Jimi Hendrix rock & roll music tribute to his Cherokee roots, a pig cooked in an underground oven (imu), native tribes canoe ceremony, concerts both Friday & Saturday, ticketed VIP meet & greet pa’ina (party) after Saturday concert.
Musical acts are set to include Bobby Moderow, Keoki Kahumoku, Northwest Blend, Halau Hula O Napualani, Naniloa Mana’oakamai, Kimo Da Kupua Mele Music, Tina Hendrix of Jimi Hendrix Music Academy, Strum ukulele Group, Halau Hula O Napualani, Pomaika’i, Ft. Nisqually Museum, Leimomiwaiwainui Kalama Canoe Family, and others.
The festival is currently looking for additional vendors and sponsors. “We set up a Go Fund Me using sponsorships and donations in effort to keep the festival free. That includes admission to all performances,” said Jane Freeman of the Festival Association.
The annual festival started back in 2005 when founders Bill and Gloria Nahalea sought to enrich local culture. The idea was to further awareness of the history of Hawaiian and Native Tribes who live in the area.
This year’s celebration marks a return from the prevalent C-19 with lots of family oriented outdoor activities. It will be held in Marine and Luis Rasmussen Park off Washington Exit #30.
Attendees can watch local woodcarvers, swim in the Columbia River, attend an all-day ukulele jam, learn from an oral history of Hawaiian musicians and instruments, and much more.
Festivities & Entertainment Friday 4pm-8pm, Saturday 9am, with canoe presentation- 8pm, VIP Meet & Greet reception 9pm-11pm, Sunday 11am-5pm.
The Kalama Heritage Festival is a beautiful, culturally rich event that celebrates the impact on the Pacific Northwest region by the Hawaiian Kanaka (humans/workers) that were brought over by the Hudson Bay Fur Trading Company in the mid-1800s. It honors the blending of the cultures between Kanaka and the Pacific Northwest Native Americans. Bill and Gloria Nahalea, the founders of the festival, spent many years researching the progression of the coming together of these two vital peoples. The Kalama Heritage Festival is an event that celebrates the traditions and history of both cultures and how they have merged into one. John Kalama’s namesake, the town of Kalama in Southwestern Washington, which overlooks the scenic Columbia River was the obvious choice for a venue.
Since its inception, The Kalama Heritage Festival has been successfully accomplishing what the Nahaleas had intended; to educate both the indigenous tribes and the public about the vibrant history of these two cultures and how they have become intricately intertwined, growing into a distinctive culture unto itself. The festival benefits and blesses all involved with it by giving those present a chance to experience the true aloha spirit of love and welcoming acceptance. It supports the vendors and performers in their livelihood and builds tourism in the Kalama community.
