The Big Island Fair returns with new bumper cars, rides, food, a circus show and live entertainment Thursday in Kailua-Kona.
The fair, which will be held at Kailua Park, also known as Old Kona Airport Park, opens at 6 p.m. Thursday. Admission on opening night is $1 for adults and children, according to EK Fernandez Shows. A 10-ride wristband is $30 for the evening, which ends at midnight.
Fair hours are 6 p.m. to midnight on Friday; noon to midnight on Saturday; and noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday. Admission on Friday is $5. On Saturday, admission is $3 between noon and 6 p.m. and $5 thereafter. On Sunday, admission drops to $4.
The 10-ride wristband for $30 will also be offered Saturday between noon and 4 p.m. with tabs valid until 6 p.m. On Sunday, the number of tickets required per ride will drop.
On tap for this year’s fair is a circus show by Ringmaster Giovanni Anastasini, who was the ringmaster for the circus shows at the 50th State Fair for several years. He will bring five acts: Comedy Diabolo, Icarian Risley, low wire, teeterboard and Dancing Gauchos.
In Comedy Diabolo, Anastasini, originally from Italy, gets the audience involved in the act.
In Icarian Risley, the Anastasini Brothers, Giuilano and Fabio, continue their family’s tradition of the Icarian act with elegance, class and amazing stunts. They have performed around the world including Circus Krone in Germany, Circus Sarasota, Circus Conelli in Switzerland and special events for Cirque Du Soleil.
Fifteen-year-old Brando Anastasini, cousin of the Anastasini Brothers, will walk low wire and perform a variety of stunts above ground.
The Alvarez family will perform their teeterboard act. The act includes patriarch Martin, who started performing at age 9, and his wife, Crina, who is originally from Romania and has been an accomplished circus performer since her youth. Their son, Gianni, and daughter, Ariana, round out the family act that includes launching, tumbling and twisting skyward and back to Earth.
Sergio and Martha Martinez, from Las Vegas, are the Dancing Gauchos. This award-winning duo merges the element of danger, represented by the boleadoras, a perilous swinging weapon, with the passionate malabo, a form of Argentinean footwork inspired by Flamenco and Irish step-dancing.
Circus show times are 9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday; 4 and 9 p.m. on Saturday; and Sunday at 4 and 8 p.m.
Live entertainment, which is free with admission, is also planned Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Hawaii Island’s own One Rhythm takes the stage. This reggae band from Hilo won first place in the 2014 Brown Bags to Stardom’s Music Video Challenge in the Musical Band Category with their original song “Wasn’t Love.”
From noon to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, children and adults can meet and take photos with “Snow Queen and Princess” and “Iron Superhero.”
Da Braddahs take the stage at 6 p.m. Saturday bringing their unique form of comedy to the Big Island Fair. James Roache, Tony Silva and da Friends poke fun at the many cultures that make Hawaii unique.
On Sunday is an Elvis tribute from Burn’n Love Waikiki. Award-winning Elvis performer Leo Days, who performs at the Waikiki Beachcomber, will take the stage at 6 p.m. for a special show created for Hawaii that captures Elvis’ time on the islands and the influence Hawaii had on his life.