Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: Who pays for all the extra equipment used on the city vehicles for the Electric Light Parade? For example, the lights, props, time, etc. Are taxpayers paying for all this? Who is it billed to? Do the city workers use tax money or out-of-pocket money for equipment? Are city workers paid for doing this parade? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the parade, I was just wondering about the funds. Sponsors, volunteer hours
power Electric Light ParadeAnswer: Most of the expenses are paid for by Hawaiian Electric Co., which has sponsored the annual parade since the beginning in association with the Friends of Honolulu City Lights, said city spokeswoman Carol Costa.
"The donations that they give to the parade are given to the various (city) departments" to build the parade entries, she said. Various bus companies also voluntarily transport the school bands that participate in the parade. A "great number of volunteer hours" are put in by the men and women in various departments, who "feel so strongly about this parade that they give a lot of personal time to producing their floats," she said.
Costa said she could not give an accounting for the actual personnel time spent during the parade because "that's handled by each department. ... I don't know if it's all volunteer or whether somebody is given comp time here and there." But she said there is no fund or expense earmarked specifically for the parade.
Meanwhile, Costa said, this year's commemorative Christmas ornament from the Friends of Honolulu City Lights "has been flying out of the stores." Last year, about $25,000 was raised from the sale of the ornament to help pay for the City Lights program, and it's hoped that a similar amount will be raised this year.
The 2001 ornament has a distinctly different look from last year's, although it has a similar theme: Shaka Santa and Mrs. Santa in front of Honolulu Hale with stars all over the tree, in brushed gold. The ornament is selling for $16 at all Macy's stores on Oahu, Borders at Ward Centre and Waikele, and at the Honolulu City Store in Ala Moana Center. They've also been sold for $15 at some craft fairs, Costa said.
Q: On Sunday night I took my family to Waikiki to watch the Electric Light Parade. It was supposed to start at 6 p.m., so we went an hour early to Kapiolani Park. But when we got there, we saw a couple of cars going to Monsarrat Avenue and found the parade had ended. I thought we were early but we were late. Can the city put the parade on again this weekend? Needless to say, a whole family came all the way from Waianae and was very, very disappointed.
A: Unfortunately, what you missed was a repeat of the parade. The first was held Saturday night through downtown Honolulu.
There won't be another Electric Light Parade until next year, but you can watch a taping of it on Oceanic Cable Channel 54 for the next three weeks.
If you got to the park at 5 p.m., you wouldn't have missed the Waikiki parade on Sunday. It was supposed to be preceded by the annual Toys for Tots Toy Run, with 3,000 motorcycles and classic cars parading from the Hawai'i Convention Center down Kalakaua Avenue, beginning at 4 p.m.
The Electric Light Parade was to begin at 5:45 p.m. at Fort DeRussy. However, it started about 5:20 p.m. because the parade of cars and motorcycles ended sooner than expected, said city spokeswoman Carol Costa.
However, even then, that parade didn't end until after 6 p.m., and some of the decorated vehicles parked in the area so that families could take photos "well into the dark," Costa said.
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