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World’s Largest Outrigger Race Fills Kona’s Coast
More than 2,500 paddlers gather for five days of long-distance races, relays and sprints across Labor Day weekend in Kailua-Kona.
Event details
The Queen Liliʻuokalani Canoe Races bring more than 2,500 paddlers to the Kona Coast for long-distance crossings, relays, sprints, and cultural gatherings, an event widely recognized as the world’s largest outrigger canoe race. Five days of competition give the race a scale that dwarfs nearly every other paddling event held anywhere in the Pacific.
That scale shapes everything about the week, from the sheer number of canoes visible on the water at once to the size of the crowd gathering along Kailua Pier for each day’s races. Paddling clubs travel from across Hawaiʻi and internationally, turning the harbor into a genuinely global gathering for the sport, with languages and accents from well beyond the islands mixing along the shoreline.
Five days of competition generate substantial hotel and rental demand throughout Kailua-Kona, and the organizer offers dedicated room blocks to help manage the surge. Kailua Pier and various shoreline viewpoints provide free ways to follow the action, making it easy for casual visitors to take in a day of racing without needing tickets or advance planning of their own.
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