Hawaii County, HI Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Article 3 of Hawai'i County's parks chapter treats a parade the same as any other public assembly. HCC §15-35(a) defines "expressive activities" as political, religious, philosophical, or ideological speech offered without a fee, and subsection (b) requires a permit from the parks director whenever a meeting, assembly, gathering, demonstration, or parade reaches seventy-five participants. Below that headcount, no permit is required at all. Two exceptions exist: student activities directed by school authorities or government agencies acting within their own functions, and expressive activities organized fewer than twenty days ahead in response to breaking news, where written notice to the county substitutes for a permit application.

For everyone else, HCC §15-37 sets the filing window at no fewer than twenty and no more than one hundred eighty days before the event, and the application must name the organizer, the responsible on-site chairman, the park requested, the anticipated attendance, start and end times, and any equipment the group plans to bring. Under §15-38, the director must issue the permit unless a conflicting reservation already exists for that time and place, the event poses a clear and present danger to public health or safety, or the park cannot reasonably accommodate an event of that size or duration.

Approved permits can carry reasonable time and area conditions. A separate track, HCC §15-36, covers non-expressive spectator attractions like sports events, pageants, and regattas, which need the director's written permission regardless of size.