Kohala Coast, Hawaii

August 30, 2024

Upcoming activity deadline

Aloha again, everyone!

We are now just six weeks away from the Feast! Linda and I are excited to see all of you in Hawaii!

As I mentioned in an earlier update, our schedule is a bit different from most sites since we do not have a service on the opening night. Instead, we have two services on the first and last holy days, with a catered luncheon in between services. You can reserve your space and pay for the holy day catered lunches through the Sign Up-Holy Day Lunches online form.

Additionally, we will have our traditional Welcome Reception and Sunset Buffet Dinner at the Hilton Lagoon on the opening night, Wednesday, Oct. 16. You can reserve your space and pay for this special dinner through the Sign Up - Paid Events online form. All taxes and gratuities are included in the prices. If you have any special dietary restrictions or requests for our group meals, please let me know.

Several activities are free for certain participants (like teens and seniors) but may have limited space, so be sure to reserve early. You can reserve your space for our activities through the Sign Up - Free Events and Sign Up - Paid Events online forms.

This year, we’ve added links to reserve and pay for activities online, making it more convenient for you to pay via credit card.

As a reminder: the deadline for reserving your spot for activities and the special group meals is Sept. 15!

You can find our housing brochure, the Feast schedule and activities descriptions with links for online sign-up and payment information at, https://feast.cogwa.org/sites/hawaii/.

Remember, you have just two weeks to sign up and pay for activities. Please reserve your tickets ASAP so we have time to finalize arrangements with the hotel and charter boats.

Mahalo,

David Register
Hawaii Festival Coordinator
818-939-5091

August 2, 2024

Activity descriptions and schedule

Aloha everyone!

We are down to just under eleven weeks until the Feast! Linda and I are looking forward to seeing all of you in Hawaii!

We now have just over 250 registered. If you know of anyone who would like to join us in Hawaii, please let them know we still have room.

You will find our housing brochure, the Feast schedule and activities descriptions with links for online sign up forms and payment information at https://feast.cogwa.org/sites/hawaii/.

Our schedule is a little different from most sites since we do not have a service on the opening night. We have two services on the first and last holy days, with a catered luncheon in between services. However, we do have our traditional Welcome Reception and Sunset Dinner on the opening night, Wednesday, Oct. 16. You may order space and pay for this special dinner at the Hilton on the Sign Up-Holy Day Lunches online form. All taxes and gratuities are included in the prices. Please let me know if you have any special dietary restrictions or requests for our group meals.

This year, we have added links for you to reserve and pay for activities online. This will save you time and add the convenience of paying via credit card online. Several activities are free for participants (like teens and seniors), but may be limited in space. So, reserve early. As a reminder, the deadline for reserving your spot at our activities and the special group meals is Sept. 15!

If you have not already made your room reservations at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort, I recommend you do so ASAP. Our room block is about 90% full. Again, I want to remind you, the hotel is providing us complimentary meeting space at the hotel for all our meetings and activities if we book a minimum number of rooms. We really appreciate those of you who have made reservations at the hotel. It saves the Church literally tens of thousands of dollars in meeting room rentals and fees.

Please reserve your tickets and pay early so we have time to prepare and notify the hotel and charter boats with our final numbers.

Mahalo,

David Register
Hawaii Festival Coordinator
818-939-5091

May 30, 2024

Important information

Aloha everyone!

Again, I want to welcome you to the Kohala Coast Feast site on the Big Island of Hawaii. I know all of you are now making plans and may have questions, especially if you have not attended in Hawaii before. We have been meeting for the Feast in Hawaii since 2013. However, this is our second year at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort (HWV), a full-service four-star Hawaiian oceanfront resort with five restaurants, 27 holes of golf, several pools and a saltwater lagoon. This email should assist in answering some of your questions and give you some vital information regarding the Hilton and the Kohala Coast area.

First of all, we hope you will choose to stay at the Hilton. Our contract requires us to fill our room block in order to receive our meeting and breakout space free of charge. This saves the Church over $30,000! If we do not fill our negotiated room block, we will have to pay for our meeting space. So, reserving rooms at the hotel provides the Church a very nice offering! Thank you!

We have also negotiated the following concessions for those reserving rooms at the hotel:

• Complimentary resort charge (currently $45 per room)
• Discounted self-parking at the Hilton for $20 per night (currently $44 per vehicle)
• Free Internet access in your room
• Unlimited movies and games (PlayStation 3 access)
• Complimentary 15-minute photo session and souvenir keepsake
• 20% discount on beach toys at the saltwater lagoon
• Complimentary unlimited use of all pools, saltwater lagoon and towels
• Keiki pool activities and scavenger hunt
• Fitness and yoga class at Kohala Spa
• Hawaiian cultural classes (ukulele, lei making and hula lessons)

As the housing brochure and the acceptance email mentioned, you may begin making room reservations on Monday, June 17. There are plenty of rooms available in our room block. So, there is no need to rush. The easiest way to make reservations is to go to the link in the brochure or at the following link:

CHURCH OF GOD FEAST OF TABERNACLES (hilton.com)

If you call the hotel number (808-886-1234) or the toll-free Hilton reservation number (888-446-6677), you will likely be routed to an international call center. Please note: The agents at the call centers are not at the Hilton in Hawaii and can only see on their computers the listed room types and availability listed in the housing brochure for our contracted dates.

If you have special needs or requests (like a room for disabled persons, connecting rooms, family suites or other special requests), you may make early reservations on Monday, June 3. You may send an email to the HWV reservations manager at karen.mateo@hilton.com. Please inform her of your request and give her your contact information (email and phone number). She will then contact you (usually within 24-48 hours) and assist you with your special request.  

The Hilton informs me that you may make reservations for up to three days before the Feast, but only one day after the Feast, to get the contracted rate based on availability. Another large group is coming to the hotel and checking into the Hilton on Saturday, Oct. 26.

Again, this year our group is booked together in the Palace Tower of the Hilton. The Palace Tower may be experiencing some “soft goods renovations” (painting, furniture, carpet, curtains, etc.), and some floors and rooms may be limited or not available during our stay.

I should also mention the International Ironman Triathlon Championship is being held on Saturday, Oct. 26, and the bicycle race will close down Highway 19 for several hours. This may prevent you from traveling to/from Kohala Coast resorts (including the Hilton), the Kona Airport and Kona/Waimea/Waikoloa Village towns. The swim and run portions of the championship will take place in the town of Kona.

You may also follow announcements and view photos from past Feast-goers at https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=cogwa%20fot%20-%20kohala%20coast%2C%20hi.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to call or email.

Warmest Alohas,

David Register
Hawaii Festival Coordinator
818-939-5091
david.register@cogwa.org