The 55th Kona Coffee Cultural Festival runs November 6 through 15, 2026. Its farm tours, the Holualoa stroll and most of its ticketed evenings take place on the two stretches of the coffee belt that the year's two storms hit.

That changes what the week means. The lantern parade and the artisan market in Kailua town look the same as always. The farms up the hill do not.

Two storms, two different slopes

The first storm hit South Kona. In Big Island Now's March report, Tom Greenwell called the March 14 Kona low the most destructive storm ever to hit Greenwell Farms, which has grown coffee for 176 years. Floodwater cut three trenches through one of the company's three South Kona farm sites and wiped out decades-old trees. Greenwell estimated damage and lost revenue at $10 million and said, "I think we're going to lose half our crop." Tours at the Kealakekua farm stopped while crews cleared the debris.

The second storm hit higher up and farther north. In August, Hurricane Lala's winds knocked over large trees across mauka Holualoa. Abigail Munoz, executive director of the Hawaiʻi Coffee Association, told Hawaiʻi Public Radio that "some farmers are reporting the loss of 20% or more of their coffee trees, mostly caused by larger downed trees." Bruce Corker of Rancho Aloha, on the slopes of Hualālai, told HPR that most Holualoa properties have tall trees along their borders and that many of them blew over. He estimated the winds at 75 mph or higher.

So the March storm hit Kealakekua and the August storm hit Holualoa. Those are the two places the festival sends people to see farms.

Where the festival's farm days land this year

The 2026 schedule keeps its usual farm-facing events. Here they are next to what each area went through this year.

Island Sun Coffee and Hala Tree Coffee are also on the 2026 farm tour list. Greenwell's own visitor page currently lists free guided tours daily from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., tastings from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and retail hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Why a lost tree is a five-year story

The number in the March coverage that matters most beyond one farm is the nursery count. Greenwell told Big Island Now the storm destroyed about 24,000 trees in his nursery. Those trees were not his alone.

"That's our future planting that is gone, and trees that I grow and give to farmers to grow."

That is Greenwell, speaking to Big Island Now.

Five months later, Corker described the timeline any replanting farm faces. He told HPR that a replacement tree takes "three or four years before you can get any coffee at all … and probably five years before you get a good harvest off that tree." He said about a dozen of his trees were uprooted, and he was trying to replant some of them.

By Greenwell's own account, the March storm destroyed young trees meant for other farms as well as his own. By Corker's timeline, a tree replanted after either storm this year would not give a good harvest until around 2031.

The statewide context points the same way. USDA's January 2026 forecast put Hawaiʻi's 2025–26 utilized coffee production at 17.8 million pounds, cherry basis, 20% below the previous season. That forecast covers the whole state and was made before either storm. It says nothing about this fall's Kona harvest. It does show the industry came into 2026 already producing less.

The festival's evenings moved south too

The Grand Finale used to mean a night at the Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa. In 2026 it moves to The Theatery and Hale Cocoa in Kainaliu, on Saturday, November 14 instead of the 15th. Tickets are $150 per person plus the $10 festival button, and tables of 10 are $1,500. In 2025, general admission was $110 and a VIP table of 10 was $1,350, with free validated parking at the resort. As of the October 21 update, the Grand Finale page said tickets "will be available for sale soon," so check the page before you plan around a seat.

Hale Cocoa also hosts the festival's newest event, the Espresso Martini & Coffee Cocktail Competition on November 11. The five-course Coffee-Flavored Supper Club is at The Theatery too.

So three ticketed evenings now take place in the Kainaliu–Kealakekua corridor, a short drive from the farm where the March floodwater cut through. The festival's paid nights have moved closer to the farms, and the closest farms to the new venues had the worst spring.

What's different for a regular

For anyone who goes every year, these are the practical changes in 2026:

• Button age. The general admission page still lists the $10 button, but free entry now applies to children 5 and under. The 2025 program said 12 and under. The cupping-awards page still says the button is required for attendees over 12, so expect different rules at different events.
• Holualoa shuttles. The Coffee and Art Stroll page recommends carpooling because parking is limited and lists shuttle pickups at Holualoa Elementary and the Imin Center. The 2025 program listed no shuttle routes.
• Cupping divisions. The 2026 rules list only Heritage and Creative divisions, with entries capped at 70 at $150 each. In 2025, results were also announced in a Certified category. Entries closed October 16 at UCC Hawaii's Holualoa kiosk, and awards are announced November 15.
• Pickleball, year two. The Pickle & Pour tournament returns to Holua Racquet & Paddle for its second year.

The Kailua town events are unchanged. The Made in Hawaiʻi Artisan Market opens Friday, November 6 at Hale Halawai County Pavilion from 2 to 9 p.m. The lantern parade leaves Kailua Pier at 6 p.m. the same evening and ends at Hale Halawai. The Hoʻolauleʻa, Kona's Got Talent and the half marathon are all back on the 2026 schedule.

Where the harvest stands going in

The Kona Coffee Farmers Association's October 2026 newsletter is the latest account from the farms. President Mark Petersen wrote that Hurricane Nolo "gave us all a scare," that Kona escaped the worst of it while Kaʻū took heavy rain, and that "Orchards are full of activity, crews are moving fast." Some operations started late. Hawaii News Now reported that O.K. Farms Hawaii postponed its planned September 1 harvest start after Lala delayed the arrival of its H-2A workers.

The same KCFA newsletter lists the recovery programs available to growers. USDA's Tree Assistance Program covers 65% of eligible tree rehabilitation and replanting costs. The Hawaiʻi Island Emergency Conservation Program for debris removal and land restoration opened September 1 and is set to close October 30. A separate state reimbursement for coffee berry borer and coffee leaf rust products opened its application portal October 1. It covers 75% of eligible costs, up to $12,000 per farmer. Growers can find program details through the newsletter and the state agriculture department's subsidy page.

Festival week runs from the Friday parade at Kailua Pier to the cupping awards on Sunday, November 15. The farm tours fall from Monday, November 9 through Friday, November 13, at Greenwell in Kealakekua and at UCC Hawaii and Buddha's Cup in Holualoa.

For Kona apartment owners, a year with two named storms is also a good time to check your building's numbers against current conditions. Commercial Investment Strategies prices Hawaiʻi apartment buildings through underwriting, not old comps. What's your property worth?