Free Lei Making At Royal Hawaiian Center

This post has been sponsored by Royal Hawaiian Center as part of an ongoing partnership, but all thoughts, copy and photography is mine alone. 

Did you know that there are free classes you can take at Royal Hawaiian Center? It’s true! Royal Hawaiian Center offers complimentary cultural programming Monday – Saturday for visitors to the Center who wish to participate. I wanted to see what the classes were all about, so I headed down to Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikiki last week. I was most interested in lei making, so I asked my friend Caitlin to join me one afternoon for lunch and free lei making! If you’re planning a trip to Oahu, make sure Royal Hawaiian Center is on your radar. 

Free Lei Making At Royal Hawaiian Center

First of all…Why does Royal Hawaiian Center offer free classes? And really – they’re free? No hidden charges?

Yep! They’re completely complimentary! I’m telling you – it’s the best deal on the island 😉 As far as why, I love the reason behind it and I don’t want to botch any of the details that make the story so important: 

Royal Hawaiian Center is built upon the historic lands of Helumoa. It’s our pleasure to share a small portion of its celebrated story.

Waikīkī, meaning “spouting waters”, was a favored retreat for aliʻi (Hawaiian nobility). Here at Helumoa, the gathering place of Waikīkī, aliʻi spent their days in the shade of more than 10,000 coconut trees. At The Royal Grove, a lush garden at the piko (center) of Royal Hawaiian Center, is a bronze statue of Princess Bernice Pauahi, great-granddaughter of Kamehameha I, Hawaiʻi’s first monarch. Here at Helumoa, Pauahi penned her last will and testament, establishing the Kamehameha Schools, dedicated to educating children of Hawaiian descent.

Royal Hawaiian Center opened its doors in 1980 and since then has been welcoming kamaʻāina (locals) and malihini (visitors) to experience the very best in cultural lessons, shopping, and dining. The suite of complimentary cultural lessons that comprise the core of Royal Hawaiian Center’s cultural program welcomes tens of thousands of guests a year from nearly twenty countries, sharing Hawaiian culture and the princess’ legacy.

Programming at Royal Hawaiian Center includes free lei making, ukulele lessons, hula classes, quilting lessons and more. A full schedule of the free classes can be found online here, so be sure to check it out so you can plan which class or classes to attend. 

PRO TIP: Because all these classes are free, spots fill up quickly, so arrive early and sign in to secure your spot when you arrive. 

Our lei making class lasted about 60 minutes and included a little bit of Hawaiian history, lei history and some information on flowers (which I loved!) that lend to why they’re used for leis in particular. It also included all the materials we needed to make our lei, including fresh flowers, lei needle and string. If you have time on your vacation or are a resident looking for a fun weekend activity, head down to Royal Hawaiian Center and check it out!