LIHU‘E — Members of the Young Brothers Community Advisory Board were treated to a live performance by the 282-member Kaua‘i All-Island Marching Band Wednesday as they presented the band’s director with a grant to help with their California trip. Larry
LIHU‘E — Members of the Young Brothers Community Advisory Board were treated to a live performance by the 282-member Kaua‘i All-Island Marching Band Wednesday as they presented the band’s director with a grant to help with their California trip.
Larry McIntosh, the musical director for the Ku Kilakila band, was on hand with the entourage of dancers, warriors, and musicians as they went through one final day of practice before departing for Pasadena, Calif. on Monday, Dec. 27.
Ku Kilakila will be one of 17 bands participating in the 2005 Tournament of Roses Parade there Saturday, Jan. 1, and have already been notified of their place in the parade. With a slot of 92, estimates are they will be viewed around 90 to 120 minutes into the parade that precedes the Rose Bowl football game.
Shelby Dabin, one of the coordinators for the dancers along with kumu hula Wallis Punua, said parents are expressing concern about the dancers and warriors performing in 30-degree weather that is currently predicted for parade day.
“They (the dancers) have gone to The Salvation Army Thrift Store and bought all kinds of gloves, blankets, and towels,” Dabin said. On the day of the parade, they will put on their full regalia before wrapping themselves with the blankets, towels, and gloves, she explained.
This is how they will be dressed when they take their parade positions.
Dabin said when the drum major gives the signal, the blankets, towels, and gloves will all be shed and left behind as the performers march off.
Dabin said one of the options was to change the costuming, but she said John Riggle of Kamehameha Schools, who has been coming to Kaua‘i to help train the group, said it has been done before, successfully, so the costumes remain.
The musicians were rehearsing their parade routines with the help of a Marine who scrutinized their formations and made adjustments.
McIntosh said the band has been meeting regularly since mid-April in preparation for this final countdown.
