Star-Bulletin
The p'au rider is a familiar symbol
of the Kamehameha parade.

Two celebrations
fit for a king

Festivals honor Kamehameha
and Hawaii's Pacific
heritage

By Cherie Chun
Star-Bulletin

Keoni Martin is proud knowing that his company, Hawaiian Airlines, is supporting Saturday's King Kamehame-ha Parade, an event both Hawaiian and cultural. He'll be among 40 musicians in a company-sponsored ukulele band that performs in the parade.

"We wanted to participate to show our ohana spirit," said Martin, a supervisor in Hawaiian's consumer affairs office.

The ukulele band will accompany an umbrella corps of 37 members who will twirl umbrellas in drill-team fashion to the ukulele band's "Hilo March."

"They're big, beautiful, red umbrellas with the Hawaiian Airlines logo," said Martin, director of both the band and umbrella brigade. Also a kumu hula, Martin has participated in past Kamehameha Day parades, riding in a pa'u unit and on floats with halau. "I'm a veteran parade-goer," he said, laughing.

This year Hawaiian Airlines contributed $150,000 to the King Kamehameha Celebration; Grueninger Tours of Indiana also gave $25,000.

"I think the first thought was that we did not want to see such a long-standing event not occur," said Debbie Nakanelua-Richards, manager of government and community relations for Hawaiian Airlines.

Matsuri in Hawaii Pan-Pacific Festival
Colorful images from Japan and the Pacific will be part
of the Pan-Pacific Festival Parade Sunday.

It was just three years ago that the Legislature eliminated funding for the festivities, threatening the future of the 82-year-old parade. Then, last year, Othmar Grueninger, president of Grueninger Tours, contributed $125,000, to be used over five years.

Following Saturday's parade is a folklife festival at Kapiolani Park that runs in conjunction with the Matsuri in Hawaii Pan-Pacific Festival.

"We've joined forces as sister festivals," said Keahi Allen, program specialist for the King Kamehameha Celebration Com-mission. "It makes sense to join forces so we're not bucking heads with dates and activities."

The Pan-Pacific Festival runs tomorrow through Sunday with an expected 5,000 musicians, danc-ers and artists coming from Japan to join Hawaii performers who will represent cultures of the Pacific Rim, according to Lynne Wikoff, who handles publicity for the festival. Wikoff says Tongan, Samoan and Maori crafts are some of the folklife festival's offerings.

Here is a guide to the Kame-hameha Day/Pan Pacific events for 1998:

Tomorrow: Statue decoration ceremonies are at 4:30 p.m., followed at 7 p.m. by "Ho'okahua," a pageant on the Ala Wai Canal celebrating the opening of the Hawai'i Convention Center. The Pan-Pacific Ho'olaulea opens at 6:30 p.m. on Kalakaua Avenue between Lewers and Liliuokalani streets. Featured entertainers include the Makaha Sons and Ledward Kaapana.

Saturday: The King Kamehameha Parade begins at 9:30 a.m., passing through downtown Honolulu and Waikiki on King and Punchbowl streets, Ala Moana Boulevard and Kalakaua Avenue, ending at Kapiolani Park. The Pan-Pacific Festival begins at 10 a.m. at the park.

Sunday: The Pan-Pacific Festival Parade kicks off at 5 p.m. and runs along Kalakaua Avenue from Fort DeRussy to Kapiolani Park.

June 26-27: The 25th Annual King Kamehameha Hula Comp-etition brings halau from Japan, Texas, California and Hawaii to the Neal Blaisdell Center Arena to compete in traditional and contemporary styles.

For information call 586-0333.