Kona Coffee Festival Parade (Festival Part 4)

Friday afternoon we assembled at the Royal Kona Resort for the big parade.  Kona Coffee Farmer's Association was entry #11.  We were parading with a lovely children's baton twirling group, thereby getting us some ooh's and aah's and deflecting from the fact that our group was so small.  We arrived at the resort around 4:00 although the parade started at 5:00pm.  We weren't sure where to park, where to meet, or any other details except it started at the resort.  We decided to park at the finish line.  One of my bridge partners told me that the Diamond parking lot behind the Shivalik Indian restaurant across from the pier was never monitored.  So we parked there and walked the mile or so to the resort.

We saw two people with coffee picking bags sitting on the lawn in front of the resort, but we didn't recognize them or see anyone else.  We were thirsty after our reverse parade hike there, so we wandered into the bar.  We had to pass through a beautiful wedding reception area with pink flowers and bows as decoration.  We had our lemonade and then went back outside to find the KCFA group.  I came to find out a couple weeks later, we had been to my dental hygienist's reception who  wed on that day which was 11/11/11.

Majorettes

The two people we saw on the lawn had grown to about 5 or 6 and Bruce Corker had been designated to look for the rest of our group.  He came back and led us to the actual parade, which was lined up on the street (imagine that).  We frantically found duct tape to adhere our #11 sign onto our banner and the truck accompanying the majorettes.  Then an official lady with a clip board informed us that we were supposed to have white parade head bands printed in red which said "Kona Coffee Cultural Festival" and pink, green or yellow florescent necklaces.  So off Paige went to get this essential gear.

Miss Aloha Hawaii

A little after 5:00pm the parade began.  Since we were number 11, we didn't have to wait too long.  We were told to stay behind as far as that telephone pole.  Now I know why parades get backed up.  It isn't easy to keep a certain distance when you are being cheered.  Another reason for cheers for us was because we were immediately behind Miss Kona Coffee and Miss Aloha Hawaii in their convertibles.  Everyone in our motley crew of 12 to 15 wore their coffee shirts or carried a coffee picker basket.  David and I held the KCFA banner.  That meant we led our group.  I felt like I was a fake.  We don't do anything but live on a coffee farm and go to meetings.  We do not pick coffee or own a coffee farm.  But we had on the KCFA decorated coffee label shirt and KCFA hats, and they needed bodies.

The KCFA marchers

David and I are carrying the KCFA banner in the above Al-Jazira piece on Kona Coffee and APEC.

It didn't take me long to get over my guilt. I soon found myself smiling, waving, and cheering when the announcer talked about KCFA and explained how everyone should only buy 100% Kona coffee because the 10% blends have evil inferior coffee filler which isn't labeled with the origin of the 90%.  Most people in the crowds lining the street cheered at this and gave us thumbs up. 

Kona parades are well run.  Everyone watching can be within earshot of a commentator.  I think we went by 6 announcers throughout the parade route.  Each time we got to hear the cheers, wave, smile, and laugh at ourselves.

At the end of the route at the King Kamehameha Hotel by the pier, we were told to veer off into the parking lot and go to the tennis courts where there was a party for us.  But before that, our group had to pose with the beauty queens.  No one minded that.

We walked a long way behind the property and finally found the tennis courts which were all set up for a party, but no one was there.  So we walked back through the hotel to see the rest of the parade.  Then we thought, why just stand here?  Why not go to the Shivalik restaurant and have dinner and watch the parade from their balcony seats?  Good question easily answered.  We had no idea how long the parade was going to be or what was behind our #11.  We found we really didn't miss much of the parade after taking our seats.  The parade lasted until after dark.  Now we knew why you had to have the florescent necklaces.  The end of the parade had lights on their floats or vehicles.  We saw entries  done by tour companies, school bands, dignitaries, karate kids, restaurants, military, etc.  Everyone had a chance to parade. 

after dark float seen from our seats

I have seen lots of parades, the last one being the Kona Fourth of July parade, and before that, the televised Thanksgiving Day parade in Chigago in 2010.  However, this was the first one I marched in and I loved it!   This was one of the times I felt all eyes were on me, just like when I was four and was named "Most Bowlegged" in preschool.