Leslie Rozeff of Maryland said it’s been a long time since she got to see a King’s Parade.
“I’m originally from the Big Island,” Rozeff said Saturday. “It’s been quite a while since I last saw a parade like this.”
Rozeff was in the company of her sister Susan who lives on Oahu where a similar parade was taking place to celebrate and honor King Kamehameha centering around the floral creations of lei and other decorations similar to what was happening when he ruled the Hawaiian Islands.
They were among the several thousand people who poured onto Rice Street to view the more than two dozen units, many of them floral in nature, to honor the Hawaiian king with a parade and ho‘olaule‘a on the lawn of the Historic County Building.
“This is the future,” said George Thronas of the Moloka‘i pa‘u unit, pointing to Jalene Horner and Kurt Fujimoto striding wooden horses but fully aware of the protocol of acknowledging the crowd. “I came back from California to participate in the parade. This might be the last parade for Melissa Sugai (as commissioner), but with the keiki learning by riding in the parade, the pa‘u and its traditions will continue.”
Mary Lardizabal of the Kapaa Middle School Choir and Ukulele Band was fearful summer vacation would keep her number of participating students low.
Nelson Batalion noted the smartness of the Ni‘ihau pa‘u unit, whose princess Ashlee Pimental constantly worked her steed to be in motion and acknowledging the crowd despite the slowdowns.
“It’s hard to work with shells,” Batalion said. “But they were very creative, using lauhala roses, wood roses, lilies, carnations and koa to create their horse lei.”
Pimental wore a lei of dovetail shells that represent the white momi pupu of Ni‘ihau, and the diamond represents the island, created by kalena nui Like‘ole Kelley.
Following the parade of Hawaiian dignitaries, including Hawaiian clubs like the Royal Order of Kamehameha, Kaumuali‘i Chapter 3, the ‘Ahahui Ka‘ahumanu, Chapter 6, and Hale ‘O Na Ali‘i, people gathered at the Historic County Building lawn where crafts and food were being sold.
“This is the 100th anniverary of Hale ‘O Na Ali‘i,” said Carol Lovell. “On the other islands, they are acknowledging this anniversary. On Kauai, we’re not. But it is our anniversary, and we’ll do something a little later.”
Parade dignitaries incuded Charles Naihe portraying the ali‘i nui, or King Kamehameha, William Neil Rapozo as the parade’s grand marshall, Joe Sugai as the pa‘u marshal, and Lori Wong as the pa‘u queen.
•••
Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
