Each paddling club sets up a food booth to help pay expenses, and this is real local food. If you are lucky enough to be in Hilo when it rains, grab an umbrella and go for a walk. The rain is blissfully warm, and brightly-colored umbrellas pop up everywhere. These are not your ordinary umbrellas, as Hilo people favor the large size usually found in golf bags. Few sports events are cancelled by rain, and the sidelines may be a cheery line-up of umbrellas topping shorts, bare legs, and rubber slippers.
Local folks love to be outdoors.
Walkers and runners favor the beautiful oceanfront. Others fish along the waterfront and at Wailoa State Park. There are public tennis courts and an Olympic-size pool. Nearby, and across a footbridge, is Coconut Island, just big enough for picnics and open-air concerts. In the last few years Hilo has attracted a number of restaurateurs serving delicious and varied fare, and the appropriate dress ranges from quite casual to more dressy, yet none requires a coat and tie.