HONOLULU (KHON2) — The first-ever ʻEwa Carnival took place on Aug. 30 and Aug. 31 at the Wai Kai events lawn, with organizers saying tens of thousands of attendees were able to enjoy the festivities.
The goal of the carnival was to fill a gap left by the lack of a 50th State Fair.
“With the absence of the 50th State Fair due to the Aloha Stadium renovations, I felt it’d be a good time to bring back something nostalgic like the Ewa Carnival back to our community,” Raymond Ho Jr. of TMR Events said to KHON2 when the carnival was announced.
The inaugural carnival was set to bring rides, games, live music, food and more to families across the island, but some were left a bit more than underwhelmed.
“I was looking forward to the rides and being able to take my kids to a carnival they’d truly enjoy,” said Taylor Fuga, who attended the event. “TMR Events always hosts great events, so I expected it to be more fun for the ʻohana and a better overall experience.”
For Fuga, the experience wasn’t soured by a lack of activities or vendors — it was an abundance of people and traffic.
“My expectations were not met. I don’t believe it was due to the vendors, but moreso the amount of people and lack of crowd control,” she said. “If the event was spread out over four to six weeks, it would have given everyone a chance to breathe and enjoy.”
Wai Kai, the host and an organizer of the event, acknowledged challenges faced by the carnival, but painted the challenges as a learning experience.
“With any first-time event of this scale, some challenges are to be expected. Working with HPD, TMR Events and professional security teams, we made adjustments along the way — even between Saturday and Sunday, which ran much smoother despite larger crowds,” said Jerry Pupillo, vice president and general manager of Wai Kai.
Pupillo continued to express satisfaction in the event, while looking forward to future projects.
“Overall, tens of thousands of people enjoyed a safe, clean and wholesome environment. The ʻEwa Carnival was created as a community-driven gathering with more than 40 local vendors and performances from community-based musicians,” he said. “We look forward to building on this first year with TMR Events to make future carnivals an even better experience for everyone.”
Despite any perceived challenges from the first ʻEwa Carnival, Fuga isn’t writing off returning to any future events, as long as appropriate changes are made.
“I would attend again if the venue is bigger and the crowd is more controlled,” Fuga said. “It was too chaotic and incredibly hard to navigate, especially with young children. I do wish for the future more rides for everyone to enjoy, too.”