Pure Aloha Festival

This year I was soooo happy I got to perform on stage with LEIISA! Great day of culture, dance, solo competitions, music, food, walking through booths, and hanging out with the people I love !!

I was so excited to go to Pure Aloha. I went to pure Aloha a few years ago when it was at Silverton, so I had plans to shop, grub and enjoy great entertainnment. Well, I think there was only half the amount of vendors this time around and only the smaller sizes were left. We were lucky to take home a few things. I’m gonna have to order the cuter stuff online.
The food booths didn’t appear as plentiful but we did enjoy the garlic shrimp and shoyu chicken plate from North Shore Shrimp. I think it was a good deal at $ 13.
We were so hungry that we didn’t make it all the way around before buying our late lunch. We got a tip from one of the bikers that there was a food booth in the back that was selling pastele stew. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the truck, pastele stew was sold out .
Entertainment is always good. The kids did great and as always, the little little keikis were adorable.
We’ll probably check out the Spring 2016 festival. Hopefully there will be more vendors.

Pure Aloha was a lot of fun, mainly because we went to the concert on Friday. Most of the food was good, but unfortunately, I was upset with the inconsistency of the shave ice from Hapa Haole. I saw people walking around with HUGE portions, so I thought it wasn’t too bad. I already knew it was overpriced though. So anyways, I decided to purchase one. As I was waiting, I saw the boys in the back make one huge shave ice & I got excited cause I thought it was mine! But a boy yelled «TAKE EM!» to a bunch of teens next to me. Next came a small sized shave ice, and of course it was mine. :($ 6 for an small shave ice that a young kid can finish themselves? I don’t think so. I would think you’d keep «hooking your friends up with extra/​free shave ice» on the low. Also, my small shave ice has barely any syrup on it. Sorry pure aloha, but this was a bust.

Loved the food and dance performers. I really loved the specialty Aloha drink wish I knew what they used to make it at home delicious!!!

This is nothing but an overpriced «Carnival»! They charge an $ 8.00 entry just to come in there festival with maybe 20 – 25 vendors tops. They only take cash with ATM’s conveniently located right by the entry… who does NOT take credit card in this day and age?! There was supposed to be live music, but the host was taking forever to get performers on stage and when they did have performances they were not that good. You would expect the vendors to resemble the culture of Hawaii somewhat, but instead you have vendors selling useless crap like vapor supplies, Minnie Mouse clothing for girls, straw hats poorly made, Thai jerky, and a realtor selling Las Vegas real estate. Nothing to do with Hawaiian culture or Hawaii for that matter.
On to the foods… what a joke! Hula Hupa was selling Dole Whips for $ 16.00. I stupidly ordered one for my kid and when she brings it over she says cash only… I was like why didn’t you tell me at first? She even had a Square symbol saying they take credit card, but it was very misleading and false advertising. So I said to her tough shit, I’m not going to an ATM for this crap. So they give it to one of there kids right in front of us. Just awful mentality and no sense of business minded people. We had chicken on a stick with rice and veggies and that was the only decent food at the festival.
Attempted to go to the carnival rides… wouldn’t you believe it there is another entry fee and the rides are more expensive than even the San Gennaro Feast! After that, we packed up and left. If I were the organizers in charge of this place I would really re-​think what «Pure Aloha» is supposed to be about and not make it a ceasepool to steal people’s hard earned money. What a complete waste of time and rip off… no wonder it was dead. Never coming back.

Haven’t been to this festival since they left the Cannery a few years ago. Not because I didn’t want to go, but because we were not in town whenever they had it. Decided to check it out this weekend at the Rio. My oh my has it changed. it’s seems to be a little like a carnival atmosphere. with rides and game booths. I can see why they had to get a bigger space. But the downfall to getting bigger and supposedly better is, the prices go up. It’s the nature of the beast, but not always the best. admission used to be $ 6 for general admission, and $ 3 for military, seniors and kids. They seem to have quite a lot more food booths, and vendors. But it’s really not a great deal for me, since I frequent Hawaii alot, I thought that everything was overpriced. Its usually that way when you go to Hawaii, not the other way around? I was missing the Hawaiian airlines booth where you could get a coupon for 10% off flights, and there used to be a snack/​seed vendor there who had juicy li hing mango. I have to say, because it was so hot, the watermelon was quite refreshing, and the $ 6! shave ice, and this other concoction my hubby found, which had pineapple on the bottom with juice, ice cream and whipped cream. We did buy some food, but it wasn’t anything to rave about.
Another change I noticed, other than how hot it was! one year at the Cannery it was so windy and cold! The entertainment, where was it? It’s seems by the time we got there about 1230p, it was finishing up on some hula. and then prizes were given, so we missed any kind of hula dancing. And no one else came on stage after that. I remember there being nonstop hula or even the emcee doing a whole lot of talking. All in all, it was okay, not enough to make me want to go back. I’m probably being generous by giving 3stars.

The first day was free if you donate some caned food. Whoop Whoop!, I wanted to go here to get some Lau Lau! we walked and looked at all the vendors, and sampled some items. It was so overwhelming, we ended up getting some garlic chicken from one spot, and some fried rice from another spot. The chicken was amazing, but the fried rice sucked! I make better fried rice at home. Then I decided to go and get a funnel cake, it was good. Now I’m stuffed. I look around and see people eating Lau Lau! I asked them where they got it! And I’ll be dammmm, it was right in front of me! Ohhh well! I expect to get to Hawaii and then I can eat all the Lau Lau I want. But the festival was cool, they had alot of Hawaiian dancers. I really enjoyed myself.

I just love Hawaiian food and the chance to experience the Island feeling in Vegas was just to tempting. We arrived around 6:30PM and there was a line to get in. The line was moving at a decent pace but they should look at a better way to move people in faster. I did get a $ 3 dollar discount for being retired Military so that was cool. The young lady at the ticket booth was really nice and had the spirit of Aloha despite being so busy.
Once inside we weaved our way through the souvenir and item vendors to get to what we came for — the food! The food selection was very good and they had not only Hawaiian but, Guam, Korean, Pizza, Chinese and Filipino food booths. We started out with a garlic shrimp plate from North Shore Shrimp. The shrimp were fresh tasting a had a great deep garlic flavor. We devoured them quickly then moved on to the rice that came with them. The rice had some of the garlic sauce from the shrimp which made it delicious. The plate also had some very good tasting macaroni salad. It was really good and had a slight onion taste but was a perfect addition to the plate.
We decided to try the Chamorro (Guam) booth and got a couple of the spicy chicken empanadas and a spicy chicken bento. The empanadas were not anything like the Mexican and Filipino ones I had before. The crust had an orange color and was much more on the crunchy side. They filling was good and overall I really enjoyed them. The spicy chicken bento was a cold chicken salad type dish. But is had lots of shredded chicken and a couple of small biscuits. It was a small dish but very tasty and refreshing. Well worth the $ 6 and the empanadas were $ 2 each and a good size.
We decided to try BBQ next from the Chicken on a stick booth. We got a stick of pork and chicken. The chicken was tender and juicy with great island flavor. The pork was on the dry side and had allot of tough fat on it. I would stick with the chicken and also note the dish came with rice and noodles. The rice is the way to go as the noodles had no real flavor but the rice had a sweet flavor.
To wrap up the night we shared a dole pineapple whip. It was so good and just like the ones you et at Disneyland. it is on the small side but is only $ 5 so well worth it for this unique refreshing treat. We took home some Custard Malasadas and Poi Mocha which were both awesome.
I was hoping that would have had a real bar with some amazing Hawaiian Mai Tais but they only have beer. Another note I didn’t see any bathrooms but I am sure they must have some but not convenient to the festival area. They do have carnival rides for the kids but I didn’t go to that side and they also have a concert area which is a separate payment.
Overall we had a great time and will definitely be going to the next Pure Aloha Festival.

Came in around 9pm so no one was in line.
Also admission was free so that made it 10 times better.
First time comming here and all I can say i had a blast.
The atmosphere was laid back and every one was very friendly.
Also some of the food shops have menus under 5 dollars so it was afordable.

I wish I knew there was a Groupon before I went, it would have made it more worth it! But admissions wasn’t too bad: $ 8 adult, $ 6 for children, seniors, and military.
The event was pretty fun. Live entertainment, local clothing and things to buy, tattoo booth, games and rides, and of course plenty of good food! They had everything from Dole Whips, malasadas, garlic shrimp, Asian food, tiramisu, mangos on a stick, and a bunch of local island foods.
I got the Dole Float and garlic shrimp. Both weren’t as good as the original but good enough to satisfy my craving!
I wish this event was bigger with more booths and things to buy, but it’s a nice island treat hidden in busy Las Vegas. I can’t wait to go again :)

I wanted a Groupon for this but couldn’t find it! If any other other Unilocalers can tell me what to search for, I’d like to do that deal next time.
Pure Aloha Fest was a nice experience. We just moved up to Vegas from Oahu two months ago and the homesickness hasn’t really set in, but the food cravings definitely have! I felt like we were back home again at this event.
Choke vendors and food. If you want it, they pretty much have it, right down to the fresh cracked coconut. My bf just broke his Locals slippers (the kine from Longs) and they didn’t have those though lol. Oh well.
I got my manapua/​pork hash fix, and we had some ono shave ice from a vendor called Hapa Haole. Prices are kind of insane, but you pay for the «imported goods» and the fact that you’re supporting local. $ 3 for a can of Hawaiian sun juice?! You know you aren’t in Hawaii anymore haha. I wish there was a Kamaaina discount or something, since the festival runs three days and $ 8/​person is a little steep just for entry when prices inside are high too. 50^th state fair doesn’t even charge that much. Minus one star for the expensive factor.
There are also lots of clothing booths and some crafts and they even had an actual tattoo booth. With permanent ink and needles. Pretty nuts.
Live entertainment, local food, and lots of aloha vibes; I’m glad we came out for this!

Definitely everyone has to experience this festival at least once in their life! I’ve always procrastinated about attending this specific Hawaiian Themed festival but never got around to it until today! My best friend told me it’s a MUST because today happened to be the last day of the event! So of course I agreed because in my mind I was thinking a bunch of Aloha kitchens all in one vicinity! Yum! Entry for kids under I think 12 is $ 6 while Adults are $ 8. They had a dedicated Groupon line that we wished we knew about prior to arriving however we were able to snag some savings because of my friend being an employee of Caesars Entertainment! $ 5 a piece! Score! Once we got in, there were plenty of booths from clothing to jeweler to a tattoo booth and lastly the food! We stopped by one booth that was just okay :-/​the chicken katsu was cold and the spam masubi thingy’ had a 10 minute wait due to the rice not being ready! They were 2 for $ 5 and I have to be honest I’ve had way better at Ohana and Aloha Kitchen! Not impressed! Onto the sweets! We tried the deep fried bananas $ 5 and hit the jack pot! Lastly the gigantic snow cones are a MUST! For $ 6 you definitely get your money’s worth! Whether I would ever return again remains To Be Announced…

Cool event. I purchased my tickets on Groupon so it was basically half off of admission which was nice. Not as much food as I thought there would be. I enjoyed the performances though. Made me want to enroll my daughter in hula lessons, she’d be perfect for it.
Plenty of rides and vendors for shopping, even a spot to get tattoos (I’ve never seen that before). I mainly come here for the music and shave ice so I was a happy camper. My friend and I didn’t stay too long only because we had other plans afterwards. He got a pineapple whip and I got 2 shave ice… yes I said two! Lol! It’s so good and it was a bit hot that day so it was the perfect treat. Once it came time to eat, it was a no-​brainer. I got garlic shrimp with macaroni salad and he got grilled chicken with garlic noodles. We devoured it! We might go next year but for sure we’ll wait until the sun goes down.

I agree with the other folk reviews best way to get in here that is cost effective is thru Groupon this year the deal was $ 7 for two ppl entry. While visiting Vegas my Fiancé and I thought it would be a great idea to go to this festival since we are both intrested in the Hawaiian culture. We had a blast trying out different foods and drinks. Warning alot of the price were high and required cash. My fav was Otai, its a hawaiian drink that is very sweet, refreshing, and hydrating. My drink kept me cool as we looked at all the vendors selling things that that they made. Live music was going on to keep everyone in the theme of Hawaii. Many of the live acts where actually poplar singers in Hawaii. Went on Easter and they had a free easter egg hunt for the kiddos. I took away a star because I was they had no lei dancers. I was looking foward to sseing them and getting a lei lol

First off, get the Groupon deal! It’s the best deal. I mean, paying for a food festival is like paying to even step inside a restaurant so I don’t know about you, the best deal is the cheapest.
Anyway, I really enjoy coming to Pure Aloha. My boyfriend & I grew up in Oahu and anywhere we feel at home, we take advantage of it. I love Hawaiian culture and food and music and everything! :)
We enjoy browsing through the booths to get some new Hawaiian pride shirts then of course, grub some ono food! Braddah’s Bbq is yummers. Maui Pack (I think that’s what they call it), comes with Korean Chicken, Pulehu Steak, Sausage, Lumpia & Redondo Hotdog. SOOOOO YUMMY! Generous portion and also comes with Mac Salad. I pretty much slurped the Teriyaki Sauce too so don’t forget to grab that.
Eating Hawaiian food while listening to a live band playing Hawaiian music. heaven. After our kanack attack, we get Shaved Ice because it’s pretty much mandatory.
I love the atmosphere of the festival & I look forward to it every time. I think everyone deserves to check it out, especially if you’re not familiar with the Hawaiian culture.

Vizzun did a great job producing this Festival. This was my first time attending and I was quite impressed.
The variety of foods was great for a newbie to island comfort foods. Prices were a bit high for what was provided, but I got some tasty treats.
There were a number of carnival rides adding to the fun atmosphere, and vendors selling clothing, ukuleles, herbed salts– lots of things!
The music and dancing were the main attractions for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the many performances by widely diverse dancers — toddlers to adults, people large and small, a rainbow of hues– just beautiful. The music– particularly the Ninth Island Band– was awesome. And the DJ spun some pretty good beats at the end of the night. Can’t wait for the next one.

Ono grinds, that’s why we attend this festival and to support our friends at the 9^th Life booth.
Yes, its nothing impressive, but its a festival so its more so an experience. We are from the islands, so it almost feels like we are at home when we come to Pure Aloha. We see familiar faces, we hear and see Hawaiian culture being shared, and mainly what we are here for, the delicious grinds.
I usually try to get my Poi Mochi fix (when the line isn’t so long), Malasadas (when its the real ones), smoke meat, Poke, and yes I could go on, fixes. So if you want to indulge in culture and flavor, you should check out the Pure Aloha festival!

Going into the festival it was very disorganized and I went early in the day before it got busy. It was Sunday, the last day you think they would have figured it out by then. I was ready to leave before we got in. Once we finally got in I was surprised at how small it was. It was still pretty good for a small festival. Food vendors were reasonably priced which was nice. Usual carnival and games that are at every local event. I should have paid attention to Nelson’s review those malasadas were totally Pillsbury biscuits! We didn’t see any performers but they did have some Hawaiian music playing. I would have liked to see some dancers or live bands. I love cultural festivals and hope this one continues to grow.

Very small festival but the food and entertainment made up for the size. The food prices were great and most stands will let you sample some food as you walk around deciding which stand to eat at. Plenty of chairs and table space so you don’t have to eat and walk. We were lucky enough to get free tickets to the Friday night comedy show/​concert with Mahi and Augie T. Great show, we had a good time eating and laughing til after the sun went down.

We wouldn’t have attended PAF this weekend if it wasn’t for the raffle at The Unilocal Olympics!
So happy we went, but I wished we came earlier! definitely more booths to check out and and more food vendors selling ono grindz. My favorite food stand was the 9^th Isle food stand’s Smoked Meat (Pipikaula)…Malasadas were nothing but fried Pilsbury Biscuits.
We also had a blast at the Kapena concert which was awesome from start to finish! Definitely not missing next year… ALOHA!!!