The Celebration of Life is an annual community gathering to honor and remember loved ones who have passed. The event features bon dance, live music, hula, memorial activities, food vendors, and a floating lantern ceremony at sunset. Donations from this event will help support patients and families living through serious illness and those who are seeking for grief support.

📍 Location: Reeds Bay, Hilo (near Liliʻuokalani Gardens) 📅Date: Sunday, May 24, 2026 🕒Time: 3:00 PM to 7:30 PM (or pau)

Opening Ceremony – 3:00 PM

• Master of Ceremony – Kuʻehu Mauga

• Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi – Led by Kuʻehu Mauga Military Color Guard (National Anthem) by Cadets from Job Challenge Hilo

• Welcome remarks to all Veterans and families by Pohakuloa Training Area Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Alvarado

Welcoming Remarks – 3:15 PM

• Brenda Ho – CEO, Hawaiʻi Care Choices

• Chris Takahashi – Board President, Hawaiʻi Care Choices

Bon Dance Begins – 3:30 PM

• Hilo Bon Dance Club

• Tsukikage Odori Kai Dancers & Taiko Drums led by Leonard Chow

Music by Ben Kaili & Friends – 4:45 PM

Kumu Meleana Manuel & KeʻOlu Makani O Mauna Loa – 5:30 PM

Special Remarks – 6:15 PM

• Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda

• Councilwoman Jennifer “Jenn” Kagiwada

• Councilwoman Ashley Lehualani Kierkiewicz

• State Representative Jeanné Kapela

• State Representative Matthias Kusch

• Hawai‘i State Senator Lorraine R. Inouye

Multi-Faith Blessings – 6:45 PM

• Rev. Yuki Fujimori of Hilo Daijingu

• Kahu Brian Welsh of Hawaiʻi Care Choices

• Rabbi Rachel Short

Opening Protocol & Chant (at water’s edge) – 7:00 PM

• Kumu Lehua Veincent

Kupuna Lantern Launch – 7:05 PM

Performance by Kainani Kahaunaele – 7:05 PM

Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award Winner

Launching of all the Lanterns – 7:10 PM

Singing of Hawaiʻi Aloha – 7:30 PM

Yes! The event is always free and open to the public. Donations are welcome and support our hospice and community grief-support programs.

No registration is required to attend. However, if you'd like to sponsor a lantern or make a donation in memory of a loved one, please visit our website in the months before the event, or come to the Will Call tent at the event.

Until 5/23, you can purchase them online in advance. Afterwards, the online platform will be closed, and you’ll only be able to purchase the lanterns onsite at the event. Each lantern is $25, and you can buy paper memorial hearts for $5 each. You’ll receive a luminary paper that you’ll be able to decorate with the memories of your loved ones (quotes, pictures, drawings, etc.), and we will provide you with a base where you can put the luminary on.

You can pick them up at the will call tent at Reeds Bay on the day of the event.

You can buy our beautiful Legacy t-shirts decorated with leis front and back for $30. HiCARE ponchos will be available for $10. There will be Andagi donuts and various other food items for sale at the event as well.

We have ocean sentries who will collect every single lantern so no sea life is harmed. Then, all the lanterns will be disassembled, and the luminary papers will be collected for a separate private burning ceremony later. You will not be able to retrieve your lanterns, so please ensure to use copies of special photos when decorating your lantern.

There will be several food trucks and vendors at the event available for your purchase. They will sell non-alcoholic beverages and dessert options along with meals of various cuisine. Food trucks will begin to sell at noon at Reeds Bay.

There will be free general parking at the Civic Auditorium, and free shuttles will be provided between Civic and Reeds bay. Handicap parking will be available at Reeds Bay. For our vendors and business sponsors, limited allocated parking will be available at Reeds Bay. Lanterns will be launched at 7pm, and the shuttles back to the Civic will begin leaving from the curbside of the event immediately following the singing of Hawai`i Aloha at around 7:30pm.

We recommend arriving around 3:00 PM to enjoy the full program, which includes bon dance, hula, food trucks, and family-friendly activities. The lantern floating ceremony begins around sunset (approx. 6:15 PM).

You may want to bring:

• A beach chair or blanket

• Sun protection (hat/sunscreen)

• A light jacket for evening

• Cash or card for food vendors

• A photo or decorative items for your lantern

Yes! The event features local food trucks, vendors, and entertainers. We will also set up separate eating tent with tables and chairs.

The event will continue rain or shine, with weather-appropriate adjustments. We will also have special ponchos for sale at the event for $10 each at the Will Call tent. We are in Hilo, after all 😊 Please come prepared.

It is a very emotional and powerful experience to let go of your lantern into the water, so we strongly recommend that you give it a chance. We will have volunteers who will be in the water and providing assistance. However, if you are unable to participate, please ask one of our volunteers in a purple t-shirt, and they will help release your lantern on behalf of you and/or your family.