LIHU‘E — All are invited to enjoy free performances of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Brass Band this weekend when the group based out of Pearl Harbor performs on Friday starting at 6 p.m. at Kukui Grove Center.
“We’re going to be joined by other members of the band to form a 30-piece marching band for the Veterans Day Parade,” said Ensign Tony Garcia, the fleet assistant bandmaster.
Amanda Huddleston, one of the band’s vocalists, said during the parade she’ll be playing the cymbals.
The Veterans Day Parade, presented by the Rice Street Business Association, starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday from the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall parking lot and ending at the Vidinha Stadium north fields.
Both Huddleston and Garcia were part of the nine-piece brass band that arrived on Kaua‘i on Tuesday, and then performed their Music Education Outreach Program to various schools around the island by treating schools and their students to concerts and musical workshops and clinics.
“Ain’t Nothin’ But A Party” was the final number the ensemble performed on Wednesday during a lunchtime concert to culminate a morning of clinics with the Kaua‘i High School band under the direction of Darryl Miyasato.
The appreciative Red Raider musicians created handmade signs and collectively waved and swayed to the music that filtered through the school’s west courtyard, grabbing the attention of students with Huddleston’s vocal presentations.
The number also describes the magic from students and teachers at the various MEOP schools visited, including Kalaheo School, Kekaha School, Kaua‘i Community College with Sarah Tochiki, and Kaua‘i High.
The band visited Island School on Thursday and Kapa‘a Elementary School on Friday morning ahead of the 6 p.m. Kukui Grove performance.
“This is all free,” said Chief Chris Jerome, who wielded the sousaphone during the Red Raider concert. “Come visit us.”
The MEOP is a curriculum shared by the Navy with students, and allows the band to give back to the local community by providing this free resource to the younger generation. Previously, the Pacific Fleet Band has traveled to schools on Maui and Hawai‘i Island to offer this same opportunity to students there.
•••
Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
