From your Ohana at @gayislandguide , Happy @honolulupride ! While enjoying the festivities, please celebrate safe and check on one another! Be Out. Be Loud, Be You! #gayislandguide #honolulupride #hawaii #lgbt #community

It’s @honolulupride 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ Weekend! If you want to stay out late tonight or Saturday night, @hulaswaikiki is open till 4am Friday & Saturday and @tapaswaikiki open til 4am Saturday! You MUST be inside before 2am! No exceptions! Also, from 2am there is no entry or re-entry meaning once you exit, you cannot go back in. Liquor sales stop by 3am and everyone must vacate by 4am! As you exit, KEEP THE NOISE Down as if there are too many complaints the bars may not be granted the exception for future occasions or events like New Years Eve! #gayislandguide #honolulupride #lgbt #hawaii #nightlife

It’s @honolulupride Weekend! If you plan to get out and about, be sure to get out and spend LGBTQ dollars at LOCAL and LGBTQ Owned Businesses! All these bars and clubs have also sponsored or contributed to various local nonprofits or events over the years - so support those who put their dollars towards our community! #gayislandguide #gayhawaii #honolulupride #lgbt #supportlocal

Let’s begin the takeover! After a few dinners, drinks and talks with friends, family and community members - the process of starting @gayislandguide was born in 2016! And here we are to celebrate today! #gayislandguide #lgbtq #pride #gaylife #goodvibes

On December 31, 2015 Odyssey Magazine in Hawaii ceased operations. It was Hawaii’s original gay magazine that could be picked up at most LGBT bars. Four months later eXpressions! Magazine closed its doors on April 30, 2016 leaving no LGBTQ magazines or media companies in Hawaii. This opened the door of opportunity and further brewing of thoughts began for @gayislandguide to be born! #gayislandguide #lgbt #throwback #hawaii #vintage #gay #magazine #model

How @gayislandguide started 10 years ago? Our founder served as a consultant to Hula’s owner and assisted with bringing changes to the historical bar. That included managing Gogo dancers that he worked to ensure a diverse look of color, shape and size to eventually including girls and introducing drag to the gogo box in order to convince management that drag should be welcomed to the then popular LGBT bar. During that period, our founder started brewing the idea as there was still Two legacy print magazines (Odyssey and Expression). #gayislandguide #gay #gayhawaii #gaytravel #gayfit – at Honolulu, HI

As Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard once said, "We aren't doing it for him. We can't help Matt anymore. But we all can and should help those who came after him”. 28 years later we remember that senseless hate-crime when two straight men posed as gay to gain Matthew’s trust and lured him from Fireside Lounge in Laramie, Wyoming on Oct. 6, 1998. They tied him to a fence and tortured him, then left him to die on the cold. He was found 18 hours later by a cyclist who initially thought he was a scarecrow. Matthew would die 6 days later at a hospital in Colorado from his severe head injuries. He became a pivotal symbol within the LGBTQ community and his death became a movement in shining the light on hate crimes. Today, we take pause to honor and remember Matthew Shepard, who was just 21 years old and a student. #gayislandguide #lgbt #gay #hatecrime #loveislove

Mahalo to all our supporters from Hawaii and all around the world for making @gayislandguide Hawaii’s premiere LGBTQ+ media company with the best news, information, events, calendar, directory and more! For ten years we’ve been able to be the first to do many different things for our community and proud of it! Follow along as over the next few weeks we reflect back! And stay tuned as there’s more to come! #gayislandguide #hawaii #gaytravel #lgbt #lgbtpride

It’s National Coming Out Day! Even in these times of endless attacks by MAGA extremism and elected Republicans who don’t hold Trump and the administration accountable or participates in the attacks themselves it is more important than ever to BE PROUD, BE OUT and BE YOU! This year, more than ever, it’s also crucial to GET REGISTERED and VOTE! Your LGBTQ vote is more critical than ever! #gayislandguide #nationalcomingoutday #lgbtq #lgbt #vote

Success! Saturday night’s Pilot program at Tapas Waikiki and Hula’s Bar & Lei Stand with the Honolulu Liquor Commission by all accounts was successful. The pilot was a test run into allowing a limited amount of licensed liquor establishments, at the commission’s discretion to remain open until 4am for special occasions. gayislandguide.net/news/f/mo…

Tonight, two of Waikiki’s LGBTQ+ bars will be open until 4am under a pilot program in coordination with the Honolulu Liquor Commission. The idea stems from a similar program that was created by the Liquor authority on Hawaii Island during Kona Pride in September. Tapas Waikiki and Hula’s Bar & Lei Stand will be the two test venues on Saturday night, October 3rd and if successful the Honolulu Liquor Commission will consider approving special licenses in the future for special occasions like Pride or Halloween. “As a commission, we are looking at ways to work with the community to be able to responsibly extend hours for special occasions, such as celebrating Pride,” said Jeff Hong, Chair of the Honolulu Liquor Commission and a member of the LGBTQ+ community. “In the end, we want licensees to be good neighbors and to mitigate complaints including about noise especially at closing times”. Hong is also leading the effort for these special licenses and got the idea while attending Kona Pride. Under the special license for tonight at Tapas and Hula’s, NO ENTRY or RE-ENTRY will be allowed from 2am, which means patrons must already be in the venue and once you leave you will not be allowed to re-enter the establishment. Establishments will also not be allowed to serve alcohol from 3am and all patrons need to be out of the premises by 4am. The venues will also be monitored by Honolulu Liquor Commission investigators and Chair Hong stated that he and the new Commission Administrator will be attending to monitor and witness the program. During the hearing on October 1st, when the Commission approved the pilot in a unanimous vote with two yes votes and three yes with reservations, Honolulu Police Department Major Garrett Okamoto of District 8 (Waikiki) testified that the department opposes the program as officers are already stretched thin with the current legacy cabaret venues in Waikiki, such as Kelly O’Neil’s and Play Bar. In the end, the success of the program will be based upon community and guest cooperation, including controlling their noise upon exiting the venues. Commissioners warned both LGBTQ licensees participating in the pilot program that should the commission receive complaints or find violations that they are likely to be unapproved for special licenses in the future. #gayislandguide #hawaii #waikiki #gay #lgbt

Hawaii’s third and longest serving Governor, George Ryoichi Ariyoshi, who died April 19, 2026 at the age of 100 will Lie in State starting today, September 18th 10:30am until 12 noon Saturday at the Hawaii State Capitol Rotunda. He arrived at the Hawaii State Capitol shortly after 10am in a police escorted motorcade from Nuuanu. He was accompanied by wife Jean Ariyoshi and his family. After a brief procession into the rotunda, the family began to receive guests including current Governor Dr. Josh Green and the First Lady of Hawaii, Former Governor’s Neil Abercrombie and Linda Lingle, along with Hawaii and Maui County Mayors. The line is now open to the public to visit and pay their respects overnight. A State of Hawaii Memorial Service is expected at 6pm at the Capitol where seating is reserved but public will be seated on a first come first serve basis. Then on Saturday, more road closures are expected beginning at around 12:30pm in Honolulu as the Governor and his family departs the Capitol for a final farewell tour to several notable locations from the Governors life before arriving at Kawaiaha‘o Church. Those locations include: Washington Place; Princess Ruth Ke‘elikōlani Middle School; Old Amfac Building, where Governor Ariyoshi worked; Smith and Pauahi Street where Governor Ariyoshi grew up and where his mother operated a tofu cafe; First Hawaiian Bank building on South King Street where Governor Ariyoshi had an office; McKinley High School Roundabout for final farewell with students, faculty, alumni, and JROTC. Public visitation at the church will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., followed by the service at 4 p.m. Public seating is once again on a first come first serve basis. The Governor will then be laid to rest at a private service at the National Memorial of the Pacific at Punchbowl. He served as the third governor of Hawaii from 1974 to 1986. A Democrat, he was Hawaii’s longest-serving governor and the first American of Asian descent to serve as governor of a U.S. state. His lengthy tenure of over 13 years is a record likely to remain unbroken due to term limits enacted after he left office. #gayislandguide #hawaii #news #hawaiinews #memorial #asianamerican – at Honolulu, HI

“If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn life is short and there is no time for hate,” Sandy Dahl, Wife of @united 93 Pilot Jason Dahl. As a former United Flight Attendant @gayislandguide will NEVER FORGET. We continue to pray for the 2,977 families and extend our deepest Aloha. #gayislandguide #911 #neverforget #america #lgbt

Listen to the one and only Dolly Parton in her own words. A true and respected LGBTQ ally and ICON! We will always love you Dolly! Thank God for allowing you to bless us on this earth and for truly living a Christlike life of love for all people and using your voice to share that message. May you have your well deserved sleep now and rest in eternal peace! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🏳️‍🌈 #gayislandguide #dollyparton #lgbt #pride #lgbtq – at Kapolei, HI

Dolly Rebecca Parton, a lifelong LGBTQ+ ally and icon has died at the age of 80. Born into a “dirt poor” Tennessee family of 12, as she would often call it, Dolly as she became famous would be one of the largest Philanthropist of many causes with the largest being her education non profit Imagination Library. She was a lifelong supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and continuously used her voice to advocate for love, acceptance and kindness without judgment. Even when her more conservative fan base would attack her for her stance, Dolly never wavered. “I keep saying: ‘If you’re the fine Christian that you think you are, why are you judging people? That’s God’s job,'” Dolly told Larry King in a 2017 interview. “We’re not God, we’re not judges, we’re supposed to love one another, we’re supposed to not judge.” She is a popular icon within the LGBTQ+ community with many drag performers who choose Dolly to imitate and perform to her music. One of the worlds most famous female celebrities known for her curves and tight bedazzled outfits, Dolly opened doors for many and was a world renowned musician and songwriter that penned famous songs like, “I will Always Love You”, “Jolene” and “Coat of Many Colors”. Her nephew Bryan Seaver, who has also served as Dolly’s head of security was featured in a video on her social media announcing the news on behalf of her family. Her publicist confirmed that Dolly passed peacefully in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. #gayislandguide #dollyparton #lgbt #news #breakingnews – at Honolulu, HI