Two Calendars, One Arena: How the Waikōloa Stables Season Fills In After Lala

Hurricane Lala brought down seven large trees at Waikōloa Stables. The September issue of the Village Association's newsletter reported that the cleanup crew had been given a chipper and was getting help from the Waikōloa Dry Forest Initiative. By October, the stables page of the WVA Breeze said most of the "mess" had been cleared and opened with "Tis the season!"

Read the season that follows as a schedule and you'll find two calendars sharing one property on Waikoloa Road. The first is a new ticketed paniolo dinner show priced for a night out. The second is the stables' long-running neighborhood calendar: a nonprofit farm stand, a nonprofit thrift shop, schooling horse shows that ask for volunteers, and a holiday ʻOhana Day. The premium show is the newer and smaller of the two. Most of what fills the stables between now and April is the neighborhood calendar.

Whose arena this is

Waikōloa Stables sits at 68-1936 Waikoloa Rd in Waikoloa Village. According to its own history page, it has operated since 1971, was designed by Vladimir Ossipoff, and once hosted the Great Waikōloa Horse Races and Rodeo. Today it offers boarding, two riding arenas, English and Western instruction, elite training, therapeutic riding, and arena and night riding.

The owner shapes everything else on the calendar. Aloha State Daily reported that the Waikōloa Village Association owns and manages the stables. So the same association that sends out the monthly Breeze and runs the board meetings also hosts a dinner rodeo for visitors and a thrift shop that sells used books. Each of those programs appears on the stables page of the association's newsletter.

The ticketed night under the lights

"Paniolo Legends Under the Lights" is the newest thing in the arena. Aloha State Daily reported that third-generation paniolo Aki Smith of Paniolo Culture Co. leads the rodeo experience. The outlet credits the idea to Smith and Karen Morgan of 1832 Hawaiʻi Living Co., with Waikōloa Stables as both venue and partner. The outlet described an invite-only premiere on May 21. The Breeze calls the August 13 evening the inaugural show.

The company name is a piece of island history. 1832 Hawaiʻi Living Co. explains that in 1832 King Kamehameha III invited Mexican vaqueros to teach cattle management and horsemanship, and that the word paniolo comes from Español. The evening opens with an open-air social, horse interaction, live music, pūpū and drinks. A long-table BBQ dinner follows, then arena horsemanship with historical storytelling, then an after-hours gathering where guests can talk story with the cowboys and learn to rope.

The ticket page lists these prices:

• Keiki, ages 5 to 12: $75, with children under 5 free
• Kamaʻāina: $185, valid Hawaiʻi state ID required
• General admission: $225
• VIP: $315

WVA members have their own landing page. It gives the code WVA20 and requires a valid WVA ID at check-in, but it doesn't show the discounted price.

The dates need a look before you plan around them. The October Breeze named October 29 as the next show. The operator's current Holiday Show Schedule starts later and lists November 13, December 22 and December 29, 2026, then January 6 and January 14, 2027. The listed times also differ. The 1832 schedule shows 5:30 to 8:30, while the stables' own listing for November 13 shows 5:00 to 8:00. Either way it's an early-evening show, and the ticket page has the final word on dates and times.

The neighborhood calendar, November through April

Most of the season's dates come from the rest of the calendar. The table below combines the stables' published schedules with the dinner-show dates for the same months.

The High Point Series is the stables' own English and Western schooling show. Its page calls the 2026–27 run a six-show series and lists five dates. The season opened October 11. The Breeze asks neighbors to come out and support the local equestrians, and adds that "we can always use volunteers for the shows." Adult tickets to the dinner show start at $185, and the schooling shows run partly on neighbors who show up to help.

Music Night is on the calendar too. The stables listed the October 17 edition from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., with Freaky Tiki and food trucks. November and December music dates hadn't been posted at last check, so the event calendar is the place to watch for them.

Saturday morning at the stand and the shop

The Saturday stand follows the same neighborhood pattern. Big Island Now reported in January that the FarmStand is organized and run by the nonprofit Waikōloa Grows. It sells island produce, baked goods, grab-and-go food, cold drinks and goods from small businesses, farmers and bakeries. Suppliers named in that report included Huina Farms lettuce, Puna Mushroom Company mushrooms, Hāmākua Creations, honey from Honey and Produce, and rhubarb from McCall Farms. Those names give a sense of what the stand carries, though the lineup changes with the seasons. The October Breeze recommends the sandwiches and pasta salads, along with drinks and fresh local produce.

A few steps away, the Dusty Donkey Emporium operates as a nonprofit thrift shop inside the original stables building. The stables' community page lists vintage aloha wear, household goods, books and other finds. The Breeze says it has "the best buys on the dry side." The shop is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., which overlaps the FarmStand's Saturday hours.

So on Saturday mornings, one stop covers lettuce, a sandwich and a secondhand aloha shirt. Both the stand and the shop are run by nonprofits on association land, and both close at 1 p.m.

ʻOhana Day closes out November

The last big community date of the year is ʻOhana Day on November 29. The Breeze lists pony rides, games and crafts for keiki, food and music, and says "Santa might even make an 'appearance. . . !'" It falls two weeks after the November 15 schooling show and between the November and December rodeo nights. On the calendar it sits squarely between the two programs.

The rest of the season follows that pattern. The stables bring in outside partners for a premium paniolo evening, and the remaining dates belong to neighborhood programs: schooling shows staffed partly by volunteers, the Waikōloa Grows stand, the thrift shop in the original building, and a holiday afternoon with pony rides. All of it happens on the same Ossipoff-designed grounds that once hosted the Great Waikōloa Horse Races.

If the stables are part of why you love the Village, or part of why you're considering it, the team at ʻĀina Luxury Realty would be glad to talk story about Waikoloa's upcountry side, from Saturdays at the FarmStand to the quieter streets near the arena.