Your Ultimate Guide to Hallowbaloo, the Biggest Halloween Bash of 2017

Have a spooktacular time with music, craft beer, food, art and entertainment at Chinatown’s hippest haunts on Saturday, Oct. 28.

By Maria Kanai

Halloween fiends: Hallowbaloo returns to Chinatown and this time, it’s bigger, bawdier and a-bounding in beer. On Saturday, Oct. 28, the lively festival takes on an all-new, Oktoberfest vibe with craft beer all night.

SEE ALSO: Your Ultimate Guide to Honolulu’s Best Halloween Parties and Events 2017

Event organizers Jonny Mac and Mike Galmiche (you might recognize them as the same organizers of the annual Party of the Year in Kaka’ako) return for the second time to organize Hallowbaloo. The founder Mark Tarone is still lending his talents as a creative adviser, and the trio promise this will be a night to remember. There’ll be food and drinks, three stages of music and live entertainment, an afterparty spanning multiple clubs and a $1,000 costume contest.

Ready? Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s Hallowbaloo:

The Street Festival

Photo: Kelli Bullock

Starting at 5 p.m., Hotel Street, Nu‘uanu Ave., Smith Street and Pauahi Street will be closed to vehicle traffic for the Hallowbaloo Street Festival. There are free, unlimited street passes, so anybody can walk around and mingle with fellow costumed revelers. If you want access to beer and drinks at the street bars, buy the street festival wristband for $15 online ($10 early bird wristbands are all sold out). But hurry, there’s been a cap of 3,000 wristbands for sale and they sell out fast.

There’ll be music, food and drink on the street and live performances on three different stages. See people walking around on stilts, listen to spontaneous music performances and watch street acts. And, be prepared for potential surprise scares from Hallowbaloo staff hidden among the crowd.

Note: The event is 21+ unless you’re accompanied by a parent.

Club Hallowbaloo

From 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., downtown bars and clubs will be open for one cover fee, offering further entertainment and partying well into the night.

Ong King Art Center

Nextdoor

Bar 35

Downbeat Lounge

Manifest

The Arts at Marks Garage

Scarlet Honolulu

Square Barrels

Pre-sale wristbands are $25, VIP at $45. Buy a wristband here.

Food & Craft Beer

Photo: Kelli Bullock

Participating restaurants and food trucks will be offering food—burgers, ulu fries, pumpkin curry chicken, veggie pad thai, kebabs and much more.

Square Barrels

Delice Crêpes

Istanbul Restaurant

Hawaiian Fresh Farms

Hawai‘i Hotdogs

Nosh

Sky Kombucha Bar & Lounge

Olay’s Thai Express

India Café

Designated craft beer areas on the street will offer tastings of:

Sparten

Franziskaner

Goose Island

Golden Road

Four Peaks

Elysian

10 Barrel

Blue Point

Kona Brewery

Widmer

Gordon Biersch

Spiked Seltzer

Entertainment

Artists, drag queens and burlesque performers will take the stage(s). Among the lineup is the Jimmy Hendrix Tribute band, Polearity Dance Studio, DJ Anit, DJ Toma and Miss Vamp Hawaii. Burlesque performers include Le Femme Rikita, Lexy Luna and Les Muses.

There will also be a Hallowbaloo Costume Contest for the grand prize of $1,000—no judges are set, and the winner will be based on crowd approval, so win the crowd, win the cash!

Tips

Be Early

The best part about Hallowbaloo is interacting with people and checking out everyone’s costumes. Get the most out of the night by arriving early, people-watching, eating dinner at the food trucks or stopping by participating restaurants.

Consider A Babysitter

While there’s nothing wrong with the keiki coming along, this year there’s no family marathon or a children’s costume contest. It may be more fun for you as a parent to leave the kids at home with a babysitter, and enjoy Halloween for yourself, and then go trick or treat with your kids on the actual holiday the next day.

Drinking? Don’t Drive!

You can park anywhere downtown, but if you’re planning to participate in the craft beer festival—the main event—hit up Uber, Lyft or get a designated driver.

Go VIP

A VIP wristband ($45) gives you access to the street festival, the bars, and five craft beer tastings at the craft beer areas from among more than 20 craft beers. You also get to skip all the lines at participating nightclubs and bars, and take home a Hallowbaloo souvenir stein, while supplies last.

Where to Park

Ali‘i Place Parking Lot

1099 Alakea St., $3 flat rate after 5 p.m., no curfew

Bishop Square Parking Lot

1050 Alakea St., $5, 24-hour flat rate, no curfew

Executive Centre Parking Lot

1000 Bishop St., $4, 24-hour flat rate, no curfew

Chinatown Gateway Plaza

1051 Bethel St., $3 flat rate, midnight curfew

Marks Garage

19 Chaplain Lane, $12 flat rate, 2 a.m. curfew

SEE ALSO: Downtown Honolulu Parking Guide 2017

Free Trolley Service

Complimentary trolley service will run from 8 to 11 p.m., circling the festival. It’ll make stops at the following locations:

Intersection of Hotel and Alakea streets

Intersection of Hotel Street and Nu‘uanu Avenue

Aloha Tower Marketplace

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