Rice Fest

This review is in reference to the last Rice Fest that I attended which was Rice Fest 2015 (not 2013). The festival is conveniently located on the parking lot of Ward Villages. Some people do not know where «Ward Villages» is so it is technically on the side of Ward (on Kamakee St.) where Office Depot is located at. The festival is held on the parking lot over there. Coming into my first Rice Fest event, I had a lot of expectations especially since there is the whole food truck craze that is trending in Hawaii nowadays. There was not that much food trucks as I expected but it was good and decent overall. They did have different rice dishes here and there to celebrate the occasion. The entertainment area is ok. They have some local acts here and there which is nice to see and they have some seats out in the front for people to chill and relax. They also have some other business vendors out there as well. Some booths that I liked were the Unilocal booth, Aloha clothing booth, wow wow lemonade, and some others. Parking might be difficult since it is in the Ward area. Overall, I enjoyed my first Rice Fest but I do hope to see get it a little bigger next time around.

So disappointed! It was just a few food trucks, some non-​food vendors (Time Warner, Sushi pillows, event Tshirt booth), an entertainment stage, and a tent for the possible record setting Spam musubi. There was nothing about rice! No rice vendors, no rice taste test, no giant grain of rice walking around, nothing!

Easy location being in one half of the open parking lot across from Ward theatre. It was awkward with the other half of the lot still open to vehicle traffic, though. Too much confusion with foot traffic and vehicles trying to get in/​out the lot.
Good selection of food trucks; Fried Musubi, Soul Patrol, Thai Spice Shack, Onto Pops, Paul’s Poppers, and a few more. I got an awesome sushi roll plate from Rolls & Bowls, ono! The entertainment was good, I liked how they mixed the lineup alternating music and cooking demo, repeat.
I was a little disappointed that there was no signage for the station where the Guinness musubi was supposed to be. I’m fairly sure I figured it out, though after being there for 2 hours and not really much to see/​do other than food trucks, I was ready to leave. I had really wanted to see the 600+ pound monster but it was hot and the kids were already bored and I didn’t need to do any shopping. I was glad I went so I can say that I’ve experienced the rice festival BUT the term festival tends to imply that there is more going on than was actually there.
Made my donation to Lanakila Pacific’s «Meals on Wheels» so my karma is good for today :)

There’s a little over an hour left to enjoy the Rice Fest!
Located in the parking lot across Ward theaters, there are food truck vendors, entertainment, gaming, balloon dude and lots of cool treats. Lucky we live in Hawaii, you’ll definitely get your rice fix.
Don’t forget to visit the Unilocal booth and check-​in to get some Unilocaly swag!
OH and grab one of the Rice Fest cards from the Lanakila Meals on Wheels booth. Get 5 stamps/​stickers and be entered to win rice for a year! Make a donation while you’re there, too. It’s for a great cause.