Maui Arts & Entertainment

The Maui Arts and Cultural Center presents two free Starry Night Cinema screenings on Sept. 15 and 16, featuring “Trolls World Tour,” and “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.”

To assist in the ongoing efforts to help Maui, Queen Kaʻahumanu Center is turning their monthly Kamaʻāina Nights concert series into a special kōkua edition benefit concert on Friday, Sept. 15 from 4 to 9 p.m. 

Free animated films featuring trolls and a singing crocodile provide family fun and are among the top 20 things to do this week on Maui. Find our comprehensive listing HERE.

Maui Arts & Cultural Center will present two solo exhibitions in Schaefer International Gallery that activate spatial potential through fiber, sculpture, and immersive installations. Chenta Laury: Adaptive Frameworks and Holly Wong: Mending Body / Mending Mind will run concurrently from Sept. 12 to Oct. 28, 2023. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

The Shops at Wailea hosted its inaugural Slack Key Festival last weekend. Proceeds raised during the festival are going toward the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund.

The Maui Family YMCA will host a special curated in-person casting event to meet American Idol producers and sing for the chance at a VIP virtual audition with an executive producer. The event will take place on Sunday, Oct. 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Maui Family YMCA located at 250 Kanaloa Avenue in Kahului.

Winners have been announced for the 16th Annual Kū Mai Ka Hula Competition, held on Saturday, Sept. 9 in Castle Theater at Maui Arts & Cultural Center.

Top music artists continue to donate their talents for fundraising events for Maui wildfire victims, including Henry Kapono, who is hosting a Maui wildfire benefit concert at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.

PacWhale Eco-Adventures hosts a FREE “For Da Keiki” event this Saturday, Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The organization says the event is part of its dedication to supporting the Maui community post wildfires. The event features food, entertainment, prizes, games and more at the Māʻalaea Harbor Shops Courtyard. 

The 16th annual Kū Mai Ka Hula competition, Maui’s premier adult hula competition, returns to the Maui Arts and Cultural Center Sept. 8-9.

The East Maui community of Hāna celebrates the reopening of the historic Hāna Gakuen Hongwanji Buddhist Temple on Sept. 9, 2023, with a Bon Dance as part of the celebration. The event will pay homage to the rebirth of the temple while raising funds for the Japanese temples destroyed in the Lahaina blaze.

In support of those affected by the tragic and life-altering fires on Maui, Jack Johnson announces Songs For Maui, a live benefit album featuring Hawaii’s own Paula Fuga and John Cruz. The album is digitally available on Sept. 15. On Sept. 18, Johnson and his band will perform an intimate benefit concert at The Republik in Honolulu, along with special guests Paula Fuga and John Cruz. All proceeds from the Songs For Maui album and The Republik show will benefit fire relief efforts and help provide ongoing support for Maui. Tickets go on sale Sept. 8.

This week on Maui, there will be several free concerts, a variety of fundraisers for wildfire victims with music from jazz to Hawaiian, and Lahaina Grown band founder performs in Kula. Find our comprehensive listing HERE.

“Waterman,” a documentary film that explores the life of Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, has received a News and Docs Emmy nomination for Outstanding Historical Documentary.

Several fundraising events for Maui wildfire victims and survivors will take place in September on Maui, Oʻahu and the mainland.

The second Maui Ola concert will feature local favorite band, The Green, who will perform live on Sept. 3, 2023, at the Tom Moffatt Waikīkī Shell. The band will offer free live streaming of their performance on mele.com from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

A premiere hula competition, a Bon Dance and a gathering of New Age performers may seem worlds apart from each other, but all three have something in common: helping Maui wildfire victims. Find our comprehensive listing HERE.

Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners will lead a statewide, one-day vigil on Friday, Sept. 1, to aid the emotional and spiritual healing of those on Maui who suffered devastating loss from wildfires that swept through Lahaina and other areas of the island. “There’s an urgent need for prayer, cleansing, and reflection so that together, we can help Maui and Hawai‘i heal,” Holt-Padilla said. “This vigil will help to create a space for grief and healing and the opportunity for Hawai‘i to be united.”

Maui’s Ocean Organic Vodka and Southern Rounds TV present a music event to support the Maui community. The Talk Story Nights event offers healing through music, food and friends at a private intimate gathering to support the Maui community. Nashville artists along with Hawaiʻi musicians perform this Tuesday Aug. 29 and Wednesday Aug. 30 from 5 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at Ocean Organic Farm & Distillery in Kula, Maui.

Several entertainment fundraisers on Maui, Oʻahu, California and Washington are scheduled this weekend and into September to benefit Maui wildfire victims, including a Maui Jazz and Blues Festival and country western concert, both in Kula.