The Kaua’i members of the Hawaii All-State Marching Band are racking up some serious frequent-flyer miles. Most of them performed with the Kauai All Island Marching Band, Ku Kilakila, at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif. in January,
The Kaua’i members of the Hawaii All-State Marching Band are racking up some serious frequent-flyer miles.
Most of them performed with the Kauai All Island Marching Band, Ku Kilakila, at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif. in January, and now they are on the East Coast, playing for U.S. senators and huge crowds in Washington, D.C ., before another performance that will be witnessed by millions of viewers around the world on live TV on Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, Nov. 24.
They performed on the west lawn of the Capitol yesterday morning, and in attendance were both of Hawai’i’s Democratic U.S. Senators, Daniel K. Akaka and Daniel K. Inouye.
Both senators shared a few stories about their band experiences as young students growing up in Hawai’i, according to a spokesperson in Akaka’s office.
The performance was enjoyed by an audience of about 600 people.
Members of the band will perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this Thursday, Nov. 24. Three hours of parade coverage begins at 9 a.m. on KHNL channel 8.
At presstime, there was no word on when the Hawai’i band will be shown.
The Kaua’i members of the band left Lihu’e Airport last Friday, Nov. 18, and practiced for the first time with the members from other islands in a parking lot at the Pentagon last weekend.
Larry McIntosh, former director of the Kaua’i High School bands and current director of the Kaua’i Community College bands, is the Kaua’i director of the Hawaii All-State Marching Band, and had been leading Kaua’i rehearsals before he and the other band members left for the Mainland.
Several parents are traveling with their children.
The Kaua’i band members and dancers include Taylor Alfiler, Michael Brewer, Kira Furugen, Geoffrey Hermano and Archer Obiano of Kapa’a High School; Joseph Aurelio, Cherielyne Baldugo, Taylor Bell, Marica Centeno, Tyson Chihara, Janel Crane, Nicole Cristobal, Nicholas Medeiros, Mallory Miner, Randy Oshima-Kekahu, Megan Rasay and Byron Rualizo, Kaua’i High School; Michael Tsugawa of Kaua’i Community College; and Kristal Daligcon, Mark Guirao, Heather Haack, Matthew Haack, Michael Haack, Byron Hahn-Morin, Steven Hahn-Morin, Paul Kali, Tiare Newton, KristiAnne Nishek, Craig Ponting, Mershelle Rivera, Harold Shimono, Kevin Toma, Angelleah Viquelia, Crystal Whitehill and Lynnell Wright, all of Waimea High School.
Yesterday’s performance on Capitol Hill marked the first time members of the entire troupe of band and dancers all performed together.
The members of the Hawaii All-State Marching Band, Na Koa Ali’i, have New York City as their ultimate destination, where they are members of one of only 10 bands marching down Broadway in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
They will also perform before crowds and the NBC-TV cameras at Herald Square.
Kaua’i’s contingent makes up about 10 percent of the total group, and the entire band stretches around 50 yards long when in formation.
Kauaians can follow the band’s tour via Web site, http://home.oceanic.com/hasmb/.
Tour highlights will be sent to The Garden Island on a regular basis during the trip.
