Hilo DIA

Coming Soon! 7th Annual Hilo Intertribal PowWow May 26, 27, and 28 at Wailoa State Park http://www.hilopowwow.com/

MAY MUSIC EVENTS In Celebration of the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards May 27 Basically Books has several Music Events scheduled: with Keawe on Saturday, May 19th at 1 pm. For more information please contact Christine Reed at 961-0144

Surf Break Café Riding the Wave of Mobile Technology Coffees are hand-pressed the old fashioned way. Photo by Nate Gaddis. Posted on May 2nd, 2012 on Big Island Now by Nate Gaddis Malissa Thompson is betting on hand-pressed Italian coffee, free Wi-Fi and a relaxed atmosphere to filter working professionals away from the competition. The [...]

KTA Super Stores    is preparing for its upcoming centennial by adding products to a new private label called “1916”, which currently includes beef, wine, and trail mix. The name “1916” is a tribute to the year the Big Island grocery chain was founded and the year Yukiwo Taniguchi, the first son of company founders [...]

  HILO DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION & PACIFIC TSUNAMI MUSEUM PRESENT EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI WORKSHOP Business Preparedness Wednesday: April 04, 2012 from 5:00 p.m. – 9 p.m. at the Pacific Tsunami Museum; 130 Kam Av. WHY PARTICIPATE? The March 11, 2011 Japan Earthquake/Tsunami was a warning Protecting employees, customers is your duty Protecting irreplaceable business assets Learn about [...]

Around Downtown –03-15-12             Did you see the images of the areas inJapanthat were hardest hit after the world’s worst ever earthquake and tsunami disasters one year later?  It was shocking to see the land scrubbed clean of all life. These images were almost as shocking as those that flashed across our screens while we [...]

Lets Grow Hilo…trying to utilize public nooks and corners of unused space and utilizing them as areas to grow food. WE NEED YOU!! Become an active organic gardener and help beautify, and enrich downtown Hilo. Lets Grow Hilo work days are the last Sunday of every month in front of the East Hawaii Cultural Center at 2 [...]

Under His Wings Ministry located in the downtown Hilo area ( across from Bueno Burrito) is dedicated to improve the lives of those who are in need. They serve breakfast and provide showers for the homeless in and around downtown hilo. In an effort to try to change the image of the people who utilize [...]

     Lucy’s Taqueria is nine weeks old and counting. Judging by their “lull” at 3 p.m., the freshest face in downtown Hilo is enjoying more than just the thrill of being the newest flavor of the month for fickle patrons. Occupying the large space vacated by the franchised Mongolian Grill, this taqueria holds two kitchens, [...]

Free, Zero Waste Fundraising Event Saturday, March 10, 2012 2pm-pau! Come Celebrate and Support Hawaii Island Organic Farming Featuring “Let’s Grow Hilo” Organic Gardens Project Enjoy Organic Food Harvested from Public Spaces Live Music and Cultural Performances Edible Plant Sale and Giveaways Keiki Face Painting Pono-Sustainability Demo and Mini Workshops  ”Lets Grow Hilo” Logo Artist [...]

10th Annual Hilo Chinese New Year Festival Celebrating the Year of the WATER Dragon in Downtown Hilo! KUNG HEE FAT CHOY! Saturday February 11, 2011 from 10 am – 3 pm at Kalakaua Park in downtown Hilo. There will be food and craft vendors, live entertainment, information booth, live martial arts demonstrations, Lion Dance performances, raffle prizes, and [...]

AROUND DOWNTOWN – 02-09-12      The Hilo Downtown Improvement Association held its annual general membership meeting Wednesday January 25 to share their annual report and elect new directors.  Outgoing president Ray Robinson reported on the DIA’s activities and accomplishments in 2011 and executive director Alice Moon gave attendees a look at what’s happening in 2012.  [...]

Around Downtown –01-12-12             Happy New Year to all the members, friends and supporters of Downtown Hilo and Mahalo for everything you’ve done, are doing and will do to help sustain our historic old town’s history, culture, character and economy.  At the end of last year we shared the news about www.ourdowntownhilo.com to encourage public [...]

The Downtown Improvement Association would like to send a big MAHALO to all who helped make the 10th Annual Hilo Chinese New Year Festival possible. Your sponsorship is greatly appreciated. Click on logo to be connected to thier website.

January 23 marks the start of the Lunar or Chinese New Year and traditionally celebrations are held for fifteen days, this year ending on February 6.  This is the most celebrated holiday of the year for billions of people of Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese descent around the world.  It is celebrated with parades, large [...]

A community-based vision and living action plan. Visit our ‘Placemaking’ website~tell us what you like! http://ourdowntownhilo.com/ Learn more about EDH 2025 & the VisionKeepers: (click the link below) http://hawaiicounty.gov/planning/pl-edh2025 Phone: (808)961-8133 or email: edh20205@gmail.com  

MAYOR DECLARES DECEMBER AS THINK LOCAL, BUY LOCAL MONTH HILO, Hawaii—Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi will read a proclamation on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 10:30 am at the Mo’oheau Bandstand in Hilo declaring December as Think Local, Buy Local month. The mayor will be joined by Randy Kurohara, director of the Department of Research and [...]

Black and White Night, Friday November 4, 2011. 5pm-10pm in Downtown Hilo. Come by the Mo’oheau Bandstand to get your Treasure Hunt Map and entertainment line-up. Dress up or Dress down, but DRESS IN BLACK & WHITE!

100 days of Aloha by the Bay At the Mo’oheau Bandstand Every day a Cruise Ship calls at the Port of Hilo, from 11am until 1pm Dates for the remainder of 2011:                  October October 11 – the Pride of America October 13 – the Sapphire Princess October 17 – the Golden Princess October 18 [...]

Please visit www.basicallybooks.com for information about upcoming Book Signings and Live Music events.

Coordinated by the East Hawaii Cultural Center, Aloha Saturday takes place on the third Saturday of the month (except for July) at Kalakaua Park.  Bring a mat or lawn chair for free live music, dance, hula, and more in one of Downtown Hilo’s most historically significant and beautiful parks.  For more info call (808) 961-5711 [...]

The KWXX Ho’olaule’a always takes place on the last Saturday of September in Downtown Hilo as the radio station’s summer-end gift to the community. This free event features three stages of live local and Hawaiian music, as well as craft and food vendors. For more info visit www.kwxx.com, or call them at (808) 935-5461.

The powwow takes place at the end of May, every Memorial Day weekend at the Wailoa Park and Pavilion, within walking distance of Downtown Hilo and Banyan Drive. Three days of Native American colorful dances, excellent crafts, and lots of family fun. Admission is free for this alcohol and drug-free event. For more info visit [...]

“Revitalization: One Wall at a Time” mural project Partnered with KTA, EHCC, and artist Kathleen Kam to install the inaugural mural for our “Revitalization:  One Wall at a Time” Project.  The wall produced statewide publicity, involved lots of community participation, and set the bar for future murals to come.

Around Downtown – 12 – 08 – 11             Mahalo to Susan Gagorik, long range planner with the Department of Planning and the folks that are keeping the EnVision Downtown Hilo 2025 Community-Based Vision and Living Action Plan updated and on track, there is a new website that stakeholders and community members can go to [...]

Around Downtown – 11 – 17 – 11             For years the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association has been touting the fact that the majority of businesses in the area are owner-operated, local-owned and that Downtown is one of the best places to actively support a local economy.  For years there have been national and statewide [...]

Fred Koehnen has a tendency of downplaying his involvement in creating the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association back in the 1960s, which really tells a lot about the man since he and his family have been and continue to be one of the most involved and active members of the Downtown community for many decades. Sure [...]

Around Downtown – 09-08-11 In 1961 twelve business men began the process of developing the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association, which was eventually incorporated in 1962.  Fred J. Koehnen (F. Koehnen, Ltd.), Harold C. Lottis (S.H. Kress & Co.), Roger Patterson (The Moses Company, Ltd.), Donald V. Theriault (Western Auto Supply Co.), Robert A. Silverman (Von [...]

Around Downtown – 08-11-11 The Hilo Downtown Improvement Association was started fifty years ago by several landowner/business owners partially in response to the negative impacts of the 1960 tsunami that destroyed much of the commercial district.  This group of concerned stakeholders didn’t just talk about what could be done to improve the conditions, even before [...]

Around Downtown – 07-14-11 Have you noticed flowers and plants cropping up around Downtown Hilo?  How about the edible landscaping?  It’s been almost one year since the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association initiated “Let’s Grow Hilo!” and the results are amazing, mostly due to two people: Senior Training Employment Program participant Chiko Arakawa and now-graduated UH [...]

Around Downtown – 06-09-11 It is amazing how quickly time flies, how so many things have changed and how many things have stayed the same.  When starting my term as executive director of the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association in November of 2009, I quickly realized that it was important to set concrete goals.  The following [...]

Around Downtown – 05-05-11 Downtown Hilo really shined during the recent Merrie Monarch Hula Festival thanks to businesses putting up special window displays, the great promotional banners and our spirit of Aloha.  This year the rain held off for the parade so images of the historic buildings, quaint storefronts and banners showed off very well [...]

Around Downtown – 04-14-11 Living, working and playing in historic Downtown Hilo gives us the benefit of being in a unique place with a rich cultural heritage and natural resources to help us sustain a high quality of life, if we chose it.  We also have the benefit of reaching back into and learning from [...]

Around Downtown – 03 – 10 – 11 Several community members and supporters of Downtown Hilo stepped up to the call for leadership that was put out over the last several months.  The Hilo Downtown Improvement Association held its annual general membership meeting last month and among other things elected new board members to replace [...]

Around Downtown – 02 – 03 – 11 Downtown has seen lots of business changes over the last year, stores closing and opening, moving, etc.  Some of these changes include Short ‘N Sweet Bakery & Café now firmly installed in the former O’Keefe & Sons Bakery on Kinoole Street. The new One Gallery is set [...]

Around Downtown 1-06-11 The last column talked about the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association 2010 accomplishments.  So what’s ahead Around Downtown in 2011? Probably the biggest and most significant promotional activity in Downtown this year will be “Hilo Hula Days: 100 Days of Hula by the Bay” at Mooheau Park & Bandstand.  For decades it has [...]