Celebrate the music, dance and history of the islands at the annual Aloha Festival Hawaii every September. The festival is one of the largest and oldest of its kind in the nation. Dancers, a royal court, parades, music and more are all part of the festivities.
The U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii was once a bastion built to protect Hawaii from foreign invaders. Today, it tells the military story of Hawaii from its Polynesian beginning to the Vietnam conflict. The story that unfolds at the Army Museum details the men and the machines that protected a nation.
Known as the "Pride of the Pacific," the Hawaii Theatre Center began as a classical downtown venue in 1922, where vaudeville, plays, musicals and silent films were the standard of the day. Eventually, the theater fell into disrepair and was abandoned in 1984. But an energetic local group of activists saved the historic venue from the wrecking ball, and the theater reopened its doors in 1996 as a 1400-seat performance center.
The USS Missouri Memorial stands as a testament to the winning will of the U.S. military in World War II, and also as a icon of strength to her devoted crew that spanned three generations. Nicknamed the Mighty Mo, the Battleship Missouri served through three wars. Today she is devoted to preserving the stories and memories of former crew members and other veterans through oral history recordings and transcriptions. Specially trained guides take visitors on a tour of the ship. In fact, part of the tour recreates the footsteps of General Douglas MacArthur.