Paniolo-Themed Carnival Ropes in Fresh Fun

Get ready for two days of fun, food and paniolo pride at this year’s Carnival, happening Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7 – 8, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Student organizers have introduced exciting updates, including Portuguese Bean Soup moving up to the Dole Hall cafeteria, the debut of a new saimin, musubi and hotdog booth, and a timed entry system for the White Elephant’s busiest hours. With fresh changes, classic traditions, and a uniquely Hawaiian cowboy theme, there’s plenty to look forward to at this year’s Carnival.

Carnival Co-Chairs

Juniors Kahi Marumoto and Julia Savage

Kahi Marumoto ’26 shared his excitement about this year’s Punahou Carnival, saying it’s all about having fun while supporting a great cause. “The Punahou Carnival offers such a wide variety of foods, rides, games, and experiences — and is a fundraiser run by the students for the students and the community. It is truly a can’t-miss event!”

Marumoto highlighted this Carnival’s unique theme. “The paniolo way of life has been deeply ingrained in Hawaiian culture for several generations, and we felt the obligation to highlight this connection in a way never done before. Plus, who doesn’t love wearing cowboy boots and palaka?”

He also shared the enthusiasm surrounding Carnival traditions and student involvement. “Students are excited about the return of some of the thrill rides that have defined the Punahou Carnival experience for decades. This year, we had one of the highest student volunteer turnouts ever, with more than 300 students – about three-fourths of our class – holding Carnival leadership positions.”

Administrative Division

From left: Juniors Kaleo Fleming, Vincent Saito, Reilee Kuba and Nicholas Flores.

The Admin Division heads 10 booths, including Sound Booth, Purchasing, and Shirts and Materials, focusing on creating signature merchandise and fabric for this year’s Carnival. One of their first tasks was to design the annual Carnival fabric, a months-long project that began at the end of the previous Carnival. The students designed paniolo-themed elements for the fabric before sending it to vendors to make the final designs and print it. “When we revealed it, people seemed to really like the fabric and it made all of our work last summer pay off,” said Vincent Saito. Saito also mentioned that attendees can enjoy country music from the sound booth, adding to the theme’s fun atmosphere.

Food Division

From left: Juniors Kayla Koyanagi, Tyler White, Cooper Konishi, Kaʻala Blaisdell-Higa, Jayden Leung and Maya Sugihara.

Among the changes is a new and improved layout for food booths, designed to streamline the flow of foot traffic. “Food booths have been rearranged to become more efficient,” shared Cooper Konishi ’26 of the Food Division. The longtime favorite Portuguese Bean Soup booth will be located in the Dole Hall cafeteria, with Gyros taking over the soup booth’s previous space. A brand-new food booth featuring saimin, musubi and hot dogs is making its debut this year, giving attendees even more delicious food options. Also of note: the delicious poi on the Hawaiian Plate comes from a fresh kalo harvest right on campus, with 580 pounds gathered from the Kosasa lo‘i, and more from Reppun Farm.

Skills and Games Division

From left: Juniors Hudson Smith, Izzy Nieling, Alethea Hayashi and Pua Saole.

The Skills and Games Division are excited about the return of EK Fernandez rides and games, including the thrill rides Seven Seas and Zero Gravity. The division also helps prep the game booths, with parents and students coming together to paint the booths

Specialties Division

Juniors Pōhaku Figueira, Hayden Schreck, Ava Ward, Morgan Hom and Kaita Endo.

The division oversees eight booths, including Art Gallery, Silent Auction, Jams and Jellies and Haku Lei. “One of the highlights is the Punahou Art Gallery, which showcases a wide variety of unique artworks across many different mediums created by local artists,” said Morgan Hom ’26. Also, with the help of Cafeteria staff and many volunteers, the booth prepared, cooked, jarred and labeled more than 10,000 jars of the Carnival’s famous jams and jellies. 

White Elephant

From left: Juniors Lexi Izawa, Kamaile Shultz, Gabe Edamura and Cross Chow

The White Elephant kicked off the year with a successful donation drive, bringing in all kinds of treasures and unique items. “Be on the lookout!” shared organizer Kamaile Shultz ’26, encouraging attendees to discover great finds at the booth. Intermittent sales and restocks will be announced through the Sound Booth, so shoppers can stay updated on new items hitting the tables.

To manage the initial rush, a timed ticket entry system will be in place for the first couple of hours on Friday and Saturday. This year, White Elephant will close at 9 p.m. both days, an hour before Carnival’s 10 p.m. closing time.

With reporting by Rachel Breitweser ’03 and Sofia Chin ’26

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