Light LabHawaiʻi
Event Lighting & Production · Big Island, Hawaiʻi

Light for the night you’re planning.

A hand-built light sculpture at the center, battery uplighting around it, and sound sized to your crowd, for a birthday in the backyard, a wedding reception, a resort gala or a festival field. We set it all up together, run it through the night, and pack it out clean, anywhere on the Island of Hawaiʻi.

Looking for a one-off piece made rather than a night lit? That’s our signs & fabrication side.

Start a project

Or see the work on Instagram.

The Mushroom glowing in full rainbow color at night beside a wet road and tropical plants
Who we light for

Backyards to ballrooms.

The setup changes with the night. Here’s roughly what each kind of event looks like with us, so you can picture yours.

  1. Backyard parties & private events

    Birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, a lūʻau in the yard. It sets up in an afternoon, and once the sun goes down the yard doesn’t feel like the same place.

    Usually
    The Mushroom on its turf or lounge base, backyard sound, and a few uplights on the palms.

  2. Wedding receptions

    From cocktail hour to the last song. The pieces give guests somewhere to gather, and give your photographer something to work with after dark.

    Planning a wedding
    Usually
    The Mushroom lounge or the Jellyfish, uplighting on the tent and palms, and sound with mics for the toasts.

  3. Resort & corporate events

    Galas, incentive groups, company nights and multi-night programs on the Kohala Coast. We work inside the property’s rules, and alongside your AV team if you have one.

    Usually
    One or both pieces, uplighting across the site, and a different look each night. Insurance and venue paperwork are sorted before contract.

  4. Festivals & community events

    Something people find their way to across a dark field. Built for a long night outdoors, with power that doesn’t depend on the nearest outlet.

    Usually
    The Jellyfish or the Mushroom as a landmark, battery power, and sound if the stage doesn’t already have it.
Start with the anchors

The Mushroom

Nine feet of programmable light on an 8 × 8 ft lounge base with pads guests actually sit on, or a 6 × 8 ft turf base for a smaller footprint. Indoors or out, no rigging.

See the Mushroom →

The Jellyfish

About fifteen feet of overhead installation on our own freestanding bamboo tripod. It needs a clear circle of roughly 20 ft. Best outdoors, in open air, with room for guests to gather underneath.

See the Jellyfish →
Which piece fits?

Three taps and we’ll point you to it.

How many guests?
Where is it?
What should it do?
Run of show

Your night, cue by cue.

A lighting crew works from a cue sheet. This is ours for a typical night: what comes on, and when. Every event has its own moments, so we build the cues around yours.

  1. 2:00 PMQ1
    INSTALL

    Load-in

    We’re on site hours before your first guest. Every piece is set, weighted and tested, the sound is placed and sound-checked, and spare fixtures, controllers and charged power are on hand. Nothing is fixed to the property without the venue's sign-off.

  2. 5:30 PMQ2
    ARC

    Guests arrive

    The palms and the edge of the lawn are already glowing on battery uplights, so the walk in is lit before the sun is gone. No cords across the path, nothing humming in the background.

    Battery uplight washing a palm trunk in color at dusk
    Battery uplight on a palm. No cable run.
  3. 6:15 PMQ3
    SCU

    Sunset

    The Jellyfish comes up as the light drops. It reads best in that blue half-hour after sunset, hanging fifteen feet up on its bamboo tripod where everyone can see it.

    The Jellyfish glowing above guests on its bamboo tripod at dusk
    The Jellyfish on its bamboo tripod. Plan a clear circle of about 20 ft.
  4. 7:00 PMQ4
    SCU

    The lounge

    The anchor. Guests drift toward the piece without being told to. It's where people end up sitting, and where the photos get taken. Everything else on the site is lit to sit around it.

    Two guests with cocktails under the Mushroom as haze drifts beneath the cap
    A cocktail, a little haze, and the cap overhead.
  5. 8:00 PMQ5
    SCU

    The big moment

    A first dance, a birthday toast, the song everyone’s been waiting for. It happens under the bell, the light falls on whoever’s in the middle of it, and it’s the photo people ask for afterward.

    Newlyweds kissing beneath the glowing Jellyfish and its bamboo tripod on a dark coastline
    The kiss, under the bell.
  6. 8:30 PMQ6
    SND

    The floor opens

    The sound comes up. BASSBOSS subwoofers so the floor feels it, and the speakers aimed so people at the edge can still talk. Bring your DJ, or we can help you find one.

  7. 11:30 PMQ7
    RUN

    Last song

    On nights we’re running the show, someone is on the lights the whole time, shifting color and brightness as the room changes. For the last song they come down slowly.

  8. AfterQ8
    DOC

    Strike

    We take it all down and leave the site the way we found it. If you booked the film, an edited time-lapse of the night follows. Something to watch back long after the night is over.

PWROff the sheet. Battery fixtures charge between nights from a standard outlet, and portable power stations carry the bigger loads where there’s no house power. Quiet, and no fumes.

Sound

Light sets the mood; sound carries the night. We bring a BASSBOSS-based system through our production partners and place it with the lighting, so the dance floor gets the full sound while the lounge and the tables stay easy to talk in. One quote and one crew for both.

Backyard
Up to ~80 guests. Two tall column speakers over a BASSBOSS subwoofer. Even sound across the yard, bass you can feel, and it plays straight from your phone. Runs off a standard outlet.
Private event & wedding
~80–250 guests. Full-range speakers, two subwoofers, wireless mics for the ceremony and toasts, and a DJ-ready mixer.
The big night
250+ guests. A full BASSBOSS rig with extra subwoofers and delay speakers, run by an audio tech, so the back of the crowd hears what the front does.

Sound and light, together

The Mushroom + Backyard sound

A glowing lounge to sit under, and music across the yard to dance to.

Either piece + Private event sound

Ceremony mics, toasts, then the dance floor, with the light changing with the music.

The Jellyfish + The big night

The Jellyfish as the gathering spot, a full system on the dance floor beside it.

Need a DJ? We can book one of the island’s best. Bringing your own DJ or band? They plug straight in. Read the full sound guide: how to size a system, why the subwoofer matters outdoors, and how we lay out sound with the Mushroom or the Jellyfish.

Battery uplighting rental & the lighting kit

Most of what we light runs on battery. That means no extension cords across the lawn for guests to trip on, no generator humming beside dinner, and lights that can go anywhere: up a palm, along a path, on a rock wall at the edge of the property, without an outlet nearby.

What we bring

Battery uplights
Wireless and weather-rated. For palms, walls, lawn edges, tents and building faces. Every light on the site changes color together, so the whole place can shift as the night does.
Where they go
Up a palm trunk, along a path, against a rock wall, inside a tent, across the face of a building. Anywhere, because there’s no outlet to stay near.
Color
Matched to your palette, or programmed to move slowly through the night. Warm for dinner, brighter for dancing.
Projection
Our own projectors: a logo, monogram or pattern on a wall, a building face or a screen, through to full projection mapping.
Live VJ
Visuals mixed live to the DJ, on screens or projected across the site, so the picture moves with the music.

How the power works

Charged before you arrive
Every battery fixture is fully charged before the event and checked on site before guests walk in.
Multi-night events
We collect the fixtures after each night and recharge them from a standard outlet, unless the site is secured overnight.
Bigger loads
Projectors and sound run from house power, or from portable power stations where there isn’t any. Quiet, no fumes.
Rain and wind
The outdoor fixtures are weather-rated. If the weather turns properly unsafe, we cover or power down, and we watch the forecast with you beforehand.
Spares on hand
Extra fixtures, controllers and charged batteries come to every event, so one light going dark doesn’t mean a dark corner.
Custom gobo projections in a venue: a palm frond and a geometric pattern on the walls and an ALOHA monogram on the dance floor
Gobo & monogram projectionA palm frond, a pattern and your monogram, cut as custom gobos and projected on walls and the dance floor.

Want lit pathways or lanterns that match the rest of the night? We build those to order in our shop, see signs & fabrication.

How much lighting a space needs

Rules of thumb we use when we plan a site. They’re a starting point, not a quote. The real answer comes from walking the space.

Uplighting

A tent or ballroom
One light every 6–10 ft of wall. A 40 × 60 ft tent usually takes 16–24.
Palms and trees
1–2 lights per palm, aimed up the trunk. A grove of six reads as a whole lit garden.
A building face
Lights every 8–12 ft along the base, closer where there’s texture worth showing.
An entrance or path
Two to frame the way in, then one every 10–15 ft so guests never walk into the dark.

Projection

A logo or monogram
One projector on a wall, a building face or a screen, aimed and focused before guests arrive.
Patterns and texture
Palm fronds and custom gobos wash a plain wall or tent ceiling with movement.
Full mapping
Content mapped to the surface itself, for entrances, scenic and late-night rooms.

Everything on the lawn runs on battery where it can, so there are no cables across guest paths and no generator beside the reception. Send us the site or a floor plan and we’ll plan it with you.

Before the night
  1. 01Scope

    Send the outline: venues, nights, guest count, the moments that matter. We come back with what’s possible and what it costs.

  2. 02Design

    For bigger events, drawings against the real site (clearances, sightlines, power and guest flow) before anything is signed. For a backyard, usually a few photos and a quick call.

  3. 03Build

    If anything custom is part of the night, it’s made in our South Kona shop on a milestone schedule, so approvals land well before load-in week.

For the venue

The part to forward to your property’s events team.

Attachment
Freestanding and weighted, with supplemental ballast as needed. Nothing is fixed to the building without the venue's sign-off.
Rigging
Overhead rigging built to an 8:1 safety factor.
Insurance
Certificate of insurance with your property’s required endorsements, before contract.
Power
Battery-first. No cables across guest paths, no generator noise or fumes.
Backup
Spare fixtures, controllers and charged power on site. If something fails, we swap it.
Weather
Wind limits, covers and shutdown procedure agreed before the date.
Contact
One point of contact from planning through strike.
Good to know
Is this only for big events?
Not at all. A lot of our nights are backyard birthdays and private parties. The Mushroom with a small sound system in a yard is one of our favorite setups, and it’s quoted for that kind of night, not for a resort gala.
Can we book lighting or sound without a sculpture?
Yes. Uplighting on its own, sound on its own, or both together. Most people come for the Mushroom or the Jellyfish, but plenty of nights just need the space lit well and the music sounding right.
Do the uplights need to be plugged in?
No. Our uplights run on battery and connect wirelessly, so they can go anywhere on the property without an outlet or a cord across a path. They’re charged before your event, and for multi-night events we recharge them between nights. Bigger gear like projectors and sound runs from house power or a quiet portable power station.
Do you do projection or a live VJ?
Yes. We bring our own projectors for logos, patterns and projection mapping, and a live VJ who mixes visuals to the music. They run on the same plan as the lighting and sound, so it all comes in one quote with one crew.
Can you do sound as well as lighting?
Yes. We supply festival-grade sound built around BASSBOSS subwoofers through our production partners, in three sizes from a backyard party to a 250+ guest night, with wireless mics and a DJ-ready mixer. Book it with the Mushroom or the Jellyfish and it's one package, one quote and one crew to coordinate. If you're bringing your own DJ or band, they plug straight in.
Do you build custom pieces, or only rent the sculptures?
Both. The Mushroom and the Jellyfish are our own designs, built in our South Kona shop. And that same shop builds one-off scenic, pathway lighting, signage and branded pieces for a program. CNC cutting, laser engraving, 3D printing and LED control are all in-house, so the job never gets handed off.
What size programs do you take on?
Anything from a backyard birthday for twenty people to private events of around 500 guests, and our pieces anchor festivals and weddings across the island. For larger multi-night resort programs, our four-person crew leads the job, with pre-qualified local installers added under our supervision as the schedule requires.
Can you work inside a resort's requirements?
Yes. Every installation is freestanding and weighted with supplemental ballast as needed. Nothing attaches to resort structures. We carry a certificate of insurance with required endorsements before contract, work to published wind limits, and run battery-first on lawns so there are no cables across guest paths and no generator noise.
Do you work alongside our AV production company?
Yes. If your event already has an AV company, they usually handle staging, screens and rigging, and we bring the sculpture, the lighting designed around it, and sound if they aren’t covering it. We coordinate load-in times, power and placement with your AV lead directly.
Which Big Island venues and resorts do you serve?
Anywhere on the island. We're based in South Kona and will come to the Kohala Coast resorts, Waikoloa, Mauna Lani, Mauna Kea and Hualālai, as well as Kailua-Kona and Keauhou, Waimea, private estates and ranch properties, and across to Hilo, Puna and Volcano. Travel is quoted up front, based on distance from Kailua-Kona.
How is custom work priced?
Everything is quoted to scope. There's no catalog price for a piece that doesn't exist yet. If we're designing the piece, there's a design fee credited toward the build, and the quote firms up once dimensions, materials, branding, electrical load and venue review are settled. Send your program outline and we'll come back with real numbers.
How far ahead does custom fabrication need to be confirmed?
Stocked lighting and the sculptures confirm at contract. Custom scenic and pathway collections generally need designs approved a few months out, and larger structural pieces earlier. We set the milestone dates with you as part of the proposal, so nothing lands on a deadline you didn't agree to.

Serving the Island of Hawaiʻi · Kailua-Kona · Keauhou · Kohala Coast · Waikoloa · Mauna Lani · Mauna Kea · Hualālai · Waimea · Hāmākua · Hilo · Puna · Volcano

Tell us about the event.

The date, the venue, roughly how many people, and anything you’ve already pictured. We’ll work out the rest with you.

Start a project @lightlabhawaii
Keep exploring
SoundConcert-scale BASSBOSS soundResort & CorporateGalas, incentive groups, buyoutsWeddingsKona, Kohala and Hilo venues
Lighting & productionStart a project