A towering Cook pine pulled from the perimeter of the Mililani Park and Ride has been taken to Kapolei Hale, where it is scheduled to be planted Thursday before becoming the glowing centerpiece of this year's Kapolei City Lights celebration. Honolulu city crews harvested the tree on Tuesday, setting the stage for an opening ceremony later this month that will include a parade, a block party and a tree lighting led by Mayor Rick Blangiardi.
The harvest was a multi-agency effort, according to Hawaii News Now, with the city's Department of Parks and Recreation and Department of Environmental Services handling the removal and the Honolulu Police Department assisting at the scene. Once cut down and trimmed, the tree was hauled to Kapolei Hale, where it will serve as the display's anchor for the holiday season.
Tree Goes in the Ground Thursday
The Cook pine is scheduled to be planted at Kapolei Hale on Thursday, ahead of its public debut.
Once in place, the tree will anchor the Kapolei City Lights opening ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 28, when Mayor Rick Blangiardi is set to flip the switch. The night's festivities will include a block party and a parade down Kapolei Parkway in addition to the tree lighting, per the Hawaii News Now account.
Parade, Block Party Times Set
Organizers have already nailed down the schedule for opening night. The block party runs from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. around Kapolei Hale, while the parade kicks off at 5:30 p.m. from Kapolei High School, according to an event announcement from EIN Presswire. That same announcement confirms this year's theme, “Paniolo Nights and Holidays Lights,” and says the decorations will stay open to the public from the evening of Nov. 28 through Jan. 3, 2027.
A Returning West Oahu Tradition
This isn't the first time a Mililani-area pine has made the trip to Kapolei. A 2023 report from Hawaii News Now described crews harvesting a 50-foot Cook pine from Makaʻunulau Community Park in Mililani for the same event, with plans to transplant it at Kapolei Hale. Spectrum News coverage of the 2021 celebration described a 60-foot Cook pine serving as that year's centerpiece in front of Kapolei Hale, while a 2025 event writeup put that year's tree at 50 feet.
The parade and block party have also had an uneven history tied to public health conditions. Spectrum News reported that the 2021 event skipped the parade and block party entirely due to the pandemic, a contrast with this year's full slate of festivities. By 2025, Spectrum News noted the parade had returned with the Royal Hawaiian Band stepping off at 5:30 p.m. from Kapolei High School, the same start time and location set for this year's procession.
