HONOLULU (KHON2) — Organizers call it the state’s largest celebration of Hawaiian culture and it wraps up this weekend with the Aloha Floral Parade.
Six bands, 165 units to represent each Hawaiian island and seven elaborate floats showing off this year’s 74th Aloha Floral Parade theme, Aloha Aina. The parade will take place from Ala Moana Park through Kalakaua Avenue to Kapiolani Park
The parade is important to Hawaii because it tells a story, our story of everyone who lives here. To me, a parade is not just entertainment, but it is an educational tool.”
Antoinette Lee, Chairman of the Aloha Festival Floral Parade
The floats were getting some final touches on the Friday before the parade. It is some organizations’ first time building floats and participating in the parade.
The executive director of the Malama Loko Ea Foundation said, “we’re really honored to be able to share sustainable resource management, the traditional knowledge of fish bones. Our fishpond is 400 years old, it’s how Hawaii used to feed itself. It’s still a thriving model that we’re all hoping to restore, and to be able to reclaim food sovereignty.”
The Maui princess, Tasha Kahele, has been participating for years and is excited to be back after the pandemic. She said, “riding pau is, has been such an honor for me, you know, to be able to perpetuate something that our people have done before us.”
Her entire family came from Alaska to show their Hawaiian culture. Kahele said, “being able to ride down the road with your ohana is just it’s just, it’s just a blessing and so it takes a lot of hard work.”
The road will be closed for the parade starting at 8 Saturday morning.