At 91, Kamehameha parade still thrills

Hawaii's unifying monarch was honored with song, dance and music

FOUR-YEAR-OLD Isabel Easley-Allen yelled "aloha kakahiaka" and waved as the 91st Annual King Kamehameha Day Floral Parade passed her yesterday.

The Nuuanu resident woke up at 7 a.m. to get a good seat on the sidewalk on Punchbowl Street near Kawaiahao Church, along with her younger sister, mom and grandma.

"I like the horses," Isabel said, pointing to one of the elaborately decorated pa'u riders.

The three generations snacked on Chex Mix under an umbrella and watched the hourlong parade. Isabel and her sister beamed with excitement as they were each given a plumeria lei by people in the 2007 Lei Princess car as it drove by.

"Everything looks so regal, so polished," said Terrie Easley, Isabel's grandmother. "It's well done."

Approximately 5,000 marchers and more than 50 vehicles participated in the four-mile parade, which started at 8:30 a.m. at King and Richards street and ended at Kapiolani Park. The King Kamehameha Celebration Commission sponsored the parade and this year's theme was "Bridging the World through Music and Dance."

Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona also took part in the parade.

"This is the first time I'm doing this parade," said Aiona, who rode in a car with his wife, Vivian. "It's exciting to be a participant."

Miss USA Hawaii Chanel Wise and her mother, Mrs. Hawaii Nadine Wise, rode together in the parade as the first mother and daughter to win the titles in the same year.

"I'm excited," said Chanel Wise. "I'm really happy to be in the car with mom, it makes it all the better."

The Oahu Council of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs was the last of the four floats in the parade.

"We started decorating yesterday and worked all night," said Casina Waterman, chairwoman for the Oahu Council. "Everything is of natural flowers."

The Kamehameha Schools cheerleaders and marching band pumped up the crowd, as did a marching band from the mainland. The Polynesian Cultural Center dancers also livened up the streets with their colorful costumes and dancing.

Some Hawaiian culture-based charter schools also participated. Tymmie Kekoa represented Halau Lokahi, a public charter school, and sat in the back of a convertible Mustang playing her ukulele throughout the parade.

"If we run out of songs, we'll sing the same ones again," she said.

James Gay and his wife, June, watched from their vantage point on Punchbowl, about three minutes from their home.

James Gay, 74, remembers a time when more people crowded the streets to watch the King Kamehameha Day Parade.

"Fifteen to twenty years ago this place was full," he said. The retired firefighter said he has attended the parade every year since he was a little boy.

"I come because I always want to be here," he said. "It's a very sacred thing. It's part of our heritage."