New Video: Looking Back at the 2019 SACNAS – The National Diversity in STEM Conference in Hawaii

The 2019 SACNAS – The National Diversity in STEM Conference is the largest multidisciplinary and multicultural STEM diversity event in the United States. SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science) is an inclusive organization that for more than 46 years has fostered the success of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans – from college students to professionals – in attaining advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership in STEM. Their Hawaii meeting was the largest in their history, welcoming over 5,000 attendees for their three day conference.

Celebrating the Best of STEM, Culture and Sports this November

November brought us a diverse range of events that began with the 2019 SACNAS – The National Diversity in STEM Conference. This is the largest multidisciplinary and multicultural STEM diversity event in the United States. SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science) is an inclusive organization that for more than 46 years has fostered the success of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans – from college students to professionals – in attaining advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership in STEM. Their Hawaii meeting was the largest in their history, welcoming over 5,000 attendees for their three day conference. 

Another highlight for this month is the return of the Pacific Rim Futsal Cup from November 26 to December 1, 2019. Similar to soccer, Futsal is played with teams of 10-12 participants on indoor basketball-size courts with a low-bounce ball. Futsal has more than 12 million competitors across 100 countries worldwide, and U.S. Futsal has governed the sport at the youth and adult levels in the U.S. since 1981. The tournament will be held in our Kamehameha Exhibit Halls and utilizing indoor athletic courts. It’s an honor to welcome US Futsal back to Hawaii! 

For more highlights and to find out more about our upcoming events, check out our photos below!

It’s an honor to once again be recognized among other world-class facilities and convention centers.
Winter is coming! HCC General Manager Teri Orton and Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi, founder of the Always Dream Foundation stopped by KHON 2’s Wake Up 2day to spread some early holiday cheer and chat about our upcoming Winter Wishes – Holiday Festival. Click on the image to watch the interview.
Aloha SACNAS! This November, we welcomed over 5,000 attendees from SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science), the largest multidisciplinary and multicultural STEM diversity event in the country. It serves to equip, empower, and energize participants for their academic and professional paths in STEM.
Members of the local SACNAS community came together for a traditional Hawaiian protocol during the SACNAS opening ceremony to welcome attendees to this year’s history-making conference.
US Futsal will kick off the holiday season for us as they return for the 2nd year of the Pacific Rim Futsal Cup from November 26 to December 1, 2019.

A Season of Firsts This October

From hosting our first ever Zero Waste event to welcoming a new STEM-related conference, October has brought a lot of new programs to the Hawaii Convention Center this month. 

We kicked off October with the Pacific Building Trade Expo where the Center collaborated with to organize zero-waste efforts for their event. Zero waste is a philosophy and a design principle that takes a whole system approach to resources and waste. It reduces consumption, minimizes waste, maximizes recycling and composting, and ensures that products are made to be reused, repaired or recycled back into nature or the marketplace. Event efforts included reducing, reusing, sorting and recycling, as well as sending items to H-POWER, the Honolulu Program of Waste Energy Recovery. This event helped divert 1,283 pounds of waste from the landfill.

We also look forward to welcoming the 2019 SACNAS – The National Diversity in STEM Conference from Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2019,  the largest multidisciplinary and multicultural STEM diversity event in the country.

SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science) is an inclusive organization that for more than 46 years has fostered the success of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans – from college students to professionals – in attaining advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership in STEM. The SACNAS conference will bring over 4,000 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) college students and professionals to Hawai‘i for the first time in its forty-six year history.  

For more highlights and to find out more about our upcoming events, check out our photos below!

Hawaii Convention Center General Manager Teri Orton was recently featured in Modern Wahine, a TV show hosted by former Miss Universe Brook Lee. In this episode, Teri showed Brook around the facility via our eco-friendly bikes and they even got the chance to shoot some hoops in our basketball courts!
The Pacific Building Trade Expo held in our Kamehameha Exhibit Hall 3. This year, the Center collaborated with the organizers to launch zero-waste efforts during their event. A total of 1,283 pounds of waste were diverted from the landfill.
HCC team members assist and attendee in sorting their trash during the Pacific Building Trade Expo, our first zero-waste event.
We are excited to welcome the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) for their 2019 SACNAS – The National Diversity in STEM Conference! The SACNAS conference will bring over 4,000 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) college students and professionals to Hawai‘i for the first time in its forty-six year history.

Hawai‘i Convention Center to Host First-Ever Holiday Festival and Ice Skating Rink

The Hawai‘i Convention Center will offer guests more reasons to celebrate the holiday season with a new festival and ice skating rink. The Center’s 56,000 sq. ft. exhibit hall space will be transformed into a month-long “Winter Wishes – A Holiday Festival” from Nov. 29-Dec. 24, 2019, and will offer a full lineup of activities for the entire family, including:

• Opening celebration with tree-lighting ceremony and special guest Kristi Yamaguchi
• An expansive 82’ x 50’ indoor ice-skating rink featuring themed events for up to 164 skaters
• Winter Wishes Marketplace
• Photos with Santa (take your own/professional portraits)
• Winter Wishes Christmas Tree Forest with a decorating contest
• Gingerbread House Competition
• Musical Entertainment
• Holiday craft workshops
• Keiki activities and attractions
• Festive holiday cuisine and beverages
• Special ticketed events

Buy tickets HERE

Click HERE to view our Calendar of Events

“This signature holiday event offers visitors and kama‘aina from throughout Hawai‘i a fresh array of holiday experiences during this special season,” said Teri Orton, general manager, Hawai‘i Convention Center, managed by AEG Facilities. “We are particularly excited to partner with world-renowned figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi to benefit her Always Dream Foundation, which supports early childhood literacy and learning tools for low-income children and their families.”

A portion of the proceeds from “Winter Wishes – A Holiday Festival” will benefit the foundation’s work in Hawaii. The presenting sponsor of the event is Matson, Inc.
“Winter Wishes – A Holiday Festival” will be open from 4-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 4-10 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sundays from Nov. 29-Dec. 24, 2019 (hours subject to change). Parking is available for $10 per vehicle at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Tickets may be purchased online at honoluluboxoffice.com or at the door. Passes for the entire season will also be available for purchase. Children ages 2 and under are free, and special discount days will be offered.

For more information about the event or for sponsorship and vendor opportunities, click HERE or contact Michellee Phelps, communications and special events manager, at mphelps@hccasm.com.

Exploring the Land and Oceans this September

This month of September, we welcomed a combination of repeat popular events along with a convention that met in Hawaii for the first time.

First off was the 37th annual Okinawan Festival, back again for the second time at their new home here at the Hawaii Convention Center. This was Hawaii’s largest ethnic festival featuring delicious food, great entertainment and lots of fun for people of all ages and welcomed 45,000 attendees from August 31 and September 1.

Another notable event this month was OceanObs’19 from September 16-20. More than 1,400 attendees from 63 countries were in attendance, doubling the conference’s previous turnout. OceanObs’, which stands for ocean observation, is held every 10 years, previously in Venice, Italy, in 2009, and Saint Raphael, France, in 1999. Attendees range from oceanographers to data scientists, engineers, and policymakers.This is the first time this premier global ocean sciences conference was held in the U.S. 

Lastly, we also welcomed the 18th Annual Native Hawaiian Convention from September 23 to 25 which brings together cultural practitioners, educators, health care and housing providers, business leaders, kupuna and future leaders from the next generation. It is the largest convening of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in Hawaii.

For more highlights and to find out more about our upcoming events, check out our photos below!

We are excited to share the Fall 2019 issue of Facilities and Destinations Magazine which featured the Hawaii Convention Center on the cover! Click on the image above to view the article.
A cultural performance from this year’s Okinawan Festival.
Ocean Obs ’19 featured more than 1,400 attendees from 63 countries with attendees ranging from oceanographers to data scientists, engineers, and policymakers.
Our Food and Beverage team recently opened our kitchen doors to KHON 2 for a morning show segment on WakeUp2Day. Featuring signature cocktails and unique dishes served during last month’s Sunset Mele on the Rooftop.
From fine wines to signature cocktails, our culinary team and customize our beverage menu to suit any event. Featured here is our refreshing signature cocktail called “Electric Lemonade” which has a shot of Vodka, Blue Curacao, club soda and a splash of Lemonade.
Our Executive Chef Hans Lentz was included in a feature article about healthy catering trends of major convention centers in North America. Click on the image above to read the article.
The Hawai‘i Convention Center will offer guests more reasons to celebrate the holiday season with a new festival and ice skating rink. We are excited to announce that we will be holding our first ever holiday festival and Ice Skating Rink! Our 56,000 sq. ft. (5,204 sq. m.) exhibit hall space will be transformed into a month-long “Winter Wishes – A Holiday Festival” from Nov. 29-Dec. 24, 2019.