Christmas on Parade: Celebrating the Season Island Style

By Barbara Fahs

When the weather is warm, we might not feel very Christmasy. Leave it to the Aloha State to come up with original, distinctive ways to make this time of year all its own.

Santa, known here as Kanakaloka, sheds his heavy fur-lined cloak and trousers and dons an aloha shirt, shorts, and rubber slippers. Santa also ditches his sleigh and rounds up helpful dolphins to pull an outrigger canoe. The elves strip down to aloha shirts and shorts, and carols are sometimes sung in the Hawaiian language set to the plinking glee of an ‘ukulele.

Christmas dinner is often a far more casual affair in Hawai‘i than in colder climates, with lū‘au on beaches and backyards offering a uniquely Hawaiian tropical note. Local cuisine is on the menu, so don’t expect turkey! Ahi, mahi mahi, or roasted pork are often the featured dishes on the big day, and don’t be surprised to also find sushi, poke, lumpia, tamales, curry, and other locally favored delicacies. Mashed potatoes? You’re more likely to encounter rice at a Hawaiian Christmas dinner.

Keeping the Christmas tradition alive is a joyful goal of many cities and towns, and Hawai‘i Island’s Christmas season parades do a great job of instilling both the Christmas spirit and community pride in the inimitable Hawai‘i Island fashion.

Small Towns, Big Parades

The small towns of Kea‘au and Pāhoa may have few traffic signals, yet they both know how to throw an awesome Christmas parade.

Kea‘au: A Very Green Christmas—Think Green!

Only six miles southwest of Hilo, Kea‘au has all the charm of a small town, while also sharing the amenities of the larger nearby city.

This year, the Kea‘au Christmas parade’s theme is “A Very Green Christmas—Think Green!” It happens on December 14 at 5:30pm. The sunset opening of the parade and the quickly darkening skies will offer an impressive display of colored lights that would be far less dramatic in daylight. Featuring Mayor Billy Kenoi as Grand Marshal, this tenth anniversary parade promises to be bigger and better than ever.

Started in 2004, the parade attracts 50 to 55 participating floats, marching bands, sports teams, church groups, and civic organizations. This year, it will kick off with the Nawahi Hawaiian Immersion Charter School choir singing Christmas carols at the intersection of Kea‘au-Pāhoa Road and Old Volcano Highway. Additional choirs and singing groups will be featured along the parade route, which will wrap up near the Puna Hongwanji Mission on Old Volcano Highway.

The President of the Parade Committee, William Walter, is a fifth generation member of the Hawai‘i Island Shipman family. He praised the choirs by saying, “These singing groups, whether they be adults or children, really help to get everyone into the Christmas spirit.”

Although the W.H. Shipman Company Limited assists with organizing the parade, Walter emphasized that it is truly a community effort. “A community committee is responsible for putting the parade together,” he added. “It consists of interested residents, all of the public schools, the police, town businesses, Kamehameha School, and others. We like to think of it as a coming together of all parts of the local community, and it connects them to each other in ways that they might not ordinarily have occasion to interact.”

Passport to Pāhoa

]Pāhoa is an eclectic town less than 20 miles south of downtown Hilo, and yet it’s a world away in appearance and style. The 2013 Pāhoa Holiday Parade’s theme is “Passport to Pāhoa,” and it happens on Saturday, December 7 at 9:30am. It will include music, floats, a fleet of classic cars, Santa, and will feature many costumed characters and animals. According to parade organizer Madie Greene, this year’s Grand Marshal will be a surprise. “We are considering two kūpuna to honor all of our seniors, the Montessori Country School staff for a flock of marshals, and an employee of First Hawaiian Bank.”

The Pāhoa Christmas parade will launch at Pāhoa Village Road and Apa‘a Street, north of the historic center of town, and proceed to Pāhoa High School.

The 2012 parade included 40 entries, and this year Madie estimates the same number. Last year’s participants included the Pāhoa Montessori Country School, the Boys and Girls Club of Pāhoa, the Hiccup Circus, the kūpuna group Women of Pa‘a, the Hawai‘i Horse Owner’s Association, and the Puna ‘Ukulele and Kanikapila Association (PUKA).

The many sponsors of last year’s parade represented the entire community and included Pāhoa Propane, Jan’s Barber and Beauty Shop, Black Rock Cafe, Kaleo’s Restaurant, Island Naturals Market and Deli, Puna Geothermal Venture, Luquin’s Mexican Restaurant, Malama Market, Atebara Hawai‘i Island Gourmet Products, W.H. Shipman Company Limited, Subway Sandwiches and Spa Paradissimo. “We’re expecting many of these loyal sponsors to repeat their involvement in our 2013 parade,” Greene added.

Kailua-Kona: Larger Town, Bigger Parade

“Kona Kine Christmas” is the theme of this year’s big west side parade, happening on December 14 at 5pm. Presented by the Rotary Club of Kona and the Kailua-Kona Community Parade Association, this 29th annual event will begin at the Kekuaokalani Gym and pool complex on Kuakini Highway. Winding its way south along Ali‘i Drive all the way to Walua Drive, near the Coconut Grove Marketplace, as many as 70 entrants will take part in the festive event. The number 70 is deceiving because approximately 1900 individuals belong to the marching bands, choirs, schools, keiki groups and other community organizations that populate the parade, according to organizer Renee Kraft.

“If you’re reading this issue of Ke Ola Magazine before December 2, it’s not too late to sign up your group for the parade,” Renée announced. “Whether you represent a neighborhood group, a nonprofit organization or a commercial venture such as a retail store, everyone is welcome to participate until we hit the magic number of 70 entrants. We especially like to include floats and groups that provide music,” Kraft added. To apply, visit the Kona side Mayor’s office at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center or contact Chauna Reese at 808.313.0025.

This year’s Grand Marshal is Jerry Tracy, who has served as the Artistic Director for the Aloha Performing Arts Company for more than 21 years. A Missouri native, Tracy relocated to Hawai‘i in 1974. He might be familiar as the face and voice of Mark Twain, around whom he has created a one-man show titled “Mark Twain Rides Again,” which will benefit the Aloha Performing Arts Company at the Aloha Theatre November 22–24. In his show, he reminisces about Twain’s 1866 visit to Hawai‘i. Watch for Tracy as a Mark Twain look-alike during the parade on December 14. Theater is his lifelong calling and he especially enjoys teaching performance skills to keiki from eight to 12 years of age at the Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu. He certainly has not limited himself to working with only more mature children—he has served as the director of many productions that include kids as young as three years old.

Tracy has made it his joyful life’s work to promote the mission of the Aloha Performing Arts Company: to enrich the lives of Hawai‘i residents and visitors by presenting quality theatre and providing theatre education.

The “Kona Kine Christmas” parade is also a chance to give back to the local community. Shortly before and during the parade, the Second Annual Menehune Holiday Food Drive will collect donated food at locations along the parade route. It’s a great opportunity to help those in need and to join with the Rotary Club of Kona in supporting the Food Basket, Hawai‘i Island’s branch of the Hawai‘i Food Bank Network. According to their website, “The Food Basket is an island-wide, supplemental food network that collects and distributes nutritious, high-quality food to low-income households, the working poor, the disabled, the ill, senior citizens, children, and other members of Hawai‘i Island’s most vulnerable populations.” ❖

---

Kea‘au parade, Valerie Ferrari: 808.270.0090
Pāhoa parade, Madie Greene: 808.640.0919
Kailua-Kona parade: ParadesInKona.com
Hawai‘i Food Bank Network: FoodBasketHI.org

Photos provided by Renée Robinson, Kea‘au Parade Committee, Madie Greene

Contact writer Barbara Fahs: hiiakas@lava.net

---

A Few Hawai‘i Island Holiday Events

The KonaWeb.com calendar lists additional events.

Dec. 7: Christmas in Waimea features holiday events and activities, plus entertainment all around town. Come early at 9am or wait until the parade begins at 5:30pm. The highway will be closed from 5:30pm until 6:45pm. After the parade, keiki can visit Santa at Parker Ranch Center. Contact: WaimeaTown.org or Patti Cook at cookshi@aol.com

Dec. 7: Christmas at Hulihe‘e Palace in Kailua-Kona marks its fourth annual event, with a royal holiday dinner, live and silent auctions, and holiday-themed performances. It happens 5–10pm. Contact: 808.331.8010

Dec. 14: Christmas at the Fairmont from 5–10pm featuring delicious local cuisine prepared by more than 20 chefs. Live jazz, handcrafted ales, wines, and Kona coffee will complement the food. Contact: 808.895.1967

Dec. 22: The 9th Annual Jingle Bell Beach Run gives both walkers and runners a 5K workout along Ali‘i Drive, starting and ending at the Kailua pier. Kids can get in on the fun as well by entering a one-mile keiki run. Both events start at 7:30am and a registration fee must be paid in advance by signing up at BigIslandRunning.com.