Katrina Valcourt

Honolulu

Managing Editor at Honolulu Magazine

Executive Editor at Honolulu Magazine

Really lovable after about two years.

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Articles

Here’s What It Was Like Staying at First Cabin International

3 weeks ago | honolulumagazine.com | Katrina Valcourt

At 71 inches, I’m the tallest person on staff at HONOLULU Magazine. So when we received a voucher to try a free stay at Hawai‘i’s first capsule hotel, all heads turned toward me. I’m not a picky traveler, preferring to crash on a too-small couch or share a bed just to have somewhere to sleep long enough to recharge for the next day’s adventures. So, intrigued by the novelty of it all, I booked a Friday and Saturday night.
Chinatown’s Popular Lei Stand Bar Reopens in Waikīkī

1 month ago | honolulumagazine.com | Katrina Valcourt

Ryan Kalei Tsuji and Tara Kanani Shimooka’s speakeasy-style bar closed last year but found a new permanent home (with validated parking). W hen The Lei Stand opened in late 2022, it was not easy to get in. Reservations at the hip, speakeasy-style bar often filled up well in advance, which meant it was not somewhere you just wandered into for pau hana or a night of Chinatown bar hopping. In summer 2024, much to the surprise of fans, it ceased normal operations,.
Heads Up: Real ID Deadline Is May 7

1 month ago | honolulumagazine.com | Katrina Valcourt

Starting this month, your state ID or driver’s license needs a gold star to be valid for domestic flights and for access to certain federal buildings and military bases. The Real ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005 as a security measure, standardizes the documents that can serve as acceptable identification. Honolulu County started rolling out Real IDs in 2018, ahead of the federal compliance deadline of May 7, 2025.
Bar Leather Apron’s Waikīkī Pop-Up Sold Out in a Day-So Kaimana Beach Hotel Is Planning More

2 months ago | honolulumagazine.com | Katrina Valcourt

The hotel says future pop-ups will feature other noted local mixologists, each serving up signature and exclusive new cocktails. If you’ve tried to get a reservation at James Beard Award-winning Bar Leather Apron, you know how difficult it can be. There are no openings for parties of two in April or May; June reservations at the Downtown bar open at 7 a.m. May 1 and will likely fill up in minutes.
It’s Everywhere: The Pickleball Craze

2 months ago | honolulumagazine.com | Katrina Valcourt

Pickleball Basics • Perfect Your Game • Love at First Lob • Serving Fashion • The Pickle Pros • Ready, Set, Dink! • Where to Play It’s the fastest-growing sport in America, a stat backed up by a 2024 report from The Sports & Fitness Industry Association and Pickleheads, which says pickleball has grown 223.5% in three years.
Hui Mahi‘ai ‘Āina Has Created a Community for Formerly Homeless People

2 months ago | honolulumagazine.com | Katrina Valcourt

At the end of Hilu Street in Waimānalo, Hui Mahi‘ai ‘Āina’s residents welcome us to a vast green space behind Aunty Blanche McMillan’s home. She zooms over on a golf cart, greeting those she hasn’t seen since returning from New Zealand, where she taught people how to implement concepts of kauhale, or communities of tiny homes, to house the homeless. Everyone is happy to see her, though she jokes that some work didn’t get done without her. McMillan grew up in a family of 17.
Bitten by the Pickleball Bug

2 months ago | honolulumagazine.com | Katrina Valcourt

It happened to me too, and I’ve never liked sports. I’m not big on sports. I watch the Olympics every two years and try to stay active, but I’d rather spend time on creative endeavors than organized team sports. That changed in 2024, when I watched the Vancouver Canucks in action at Rogers Arena, then found myself screaming for Shohei Ohtani at Dodger Stadium.
‘Ōpio Fest is HIFF’s New Signature Spring Showcase

Mar 10, 2025 | honolulumagazine.com | Katrina Valcourt

Every spring, the Hawai‘i International Film Festival presents a mini festival of early-year films from Sundance and other recent festivals around the world. And since last year, it’s also showcased student films. Now, the two have combined forces for one event called ‘Ōpio Fest, running April 8–13 at Consolidated Theatres Kāhala.
Q&A With Representative Kim Coco Iwamoto

Mar 1, 2025 | honolulumagazine.com | Katrina Valcourt

One of your priorities has been to address homelessness and housing security by investing in affordable housing. How will you approach this issue at the legislative level? Even our newly constructed affordable housing is unaffordable. We need more rental subsidies to keep people housed. My vacant home surcharge bill will raise the needed funds by collecting the general excise tax revenue that would have been collected had that home been rented and occupied by residents.
The Hawai‘i State Archives Is Home to the Largest Vintage ‘Ukulele Collection in the World

Feb 1, 2025 | honolulumagazine.com | Katrina Valcourt

It’s no coincidence that shortly after Hawai‘i’s participation in the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, which included live music performances, Hawaiian music outsold every other genre in the U.S. “The ‘ukulele was very influential in shaping music as we know it today, but most people don’t know that story,” says Hawai‘i State Archivist Adam Jansen.