Royal procession regales crowd

Technically, the Merrie Monarch Royal Parade began at exactly 10:30 a.m. on a sunny Saturday morning, when the Royal Order of Kamehameha’s float turned onto Pauahi Street.

But for most people, from the hundreds marching with floats to the hundreds there to watch the festivities, start time came much earlier.

“Quarter to seven,” said Roxy Morante of Hilo, explaining when she and her family and friends arrived to stake out a spot, carefully chosen not only for prime parade viewing, but also for beating traffic on the way out.

The group set up two tents near another friend’s tent on Pauahi, and picked up food from Burger King and Longs for breakfast and lunch.

“It’s the best time of year,” said Sonny Morante.

The Morantes and their friends always come to the Merrie Monarch parade, and why not? Where else can you see veterans, high school marching bands, college students, hula halau, pageant contestants, paniolo and larger-than-life Hawaiian hoary bats (or, at least, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park rangers dressed as bats)?

Float entrants represented the entire Merrie Monarch community, from the Big Island to Taiwan and Tonga.

The festival’s newly crowned Miss Aloha Hula, Kayli Ka‘iulani Carr of Oahu, waved and flashed shakas to the cheering crowd. Grand marshal Rodney Acia, a former paniolo who is now the golf professional at Hilo Municipal Golf Course, was driven in style in a red Mustang.

Halau Na Pua O Uluhaimalama of Hilo won the top prize in the floats contest. Hawaii USA Federal Credit Union, sporting brilliant blue Hello Hilo T-shirts, took second place.

Hui Okinawa Kobudo Taiko was awarded third place.

After making their way along Kilauea Avenue and Waianuenue Avenue, the floats stopped at the corner of Kamehameha Avenue and Pauahi, in front of the float bearing the Merrie Monarch Royal Court and mo‘i kane Keahi Warfield and mo‘i wahine Faylynn Karratti.

Across the street in Wailoa River State Park, several horse trailers had formed a makeshift camp for the riders trickling back to the staging area.

This year’s pa‘u queen, Nancy Cabral, explained the history of pa‘u riders to a rapt young girl whose Big Island Cheer group had just finished the parade route. Cabral still wore her flowing outfit, which she had sewed about a month ago in preparation for the big day.

And the day itself?

“We got up at five,” Cabral told the Tribune-Herald. “The ladies had to get their hair and makeup done.” Nine other riders rode alongside Cabral; the pa‘u queen gets to choose how many horses accompany her.

“It’s truly a huge honor,” Cabral said of the invitation to be queen. Over the past 30 years, she has been involved with each island’s pa‘u contingent. If she wasn’t riding as a princess, she was helping decorate the horses or sew the outfits.

When judges are selecting the winning pa‘u group, every detail matters, even the decorations of the humble pooper scooper wagon crew trailing each group of horses (Kahoolawe’s was hidden beneath the tentacles of a silvery octopus).

Hawaii Island swept the pa‘u awards. Kahoolawe and Oahu also had strong showings.

“The horses were great,” Cabral said. For them, she said, the hardest part of a parade is the constant stopping. Once they start to go, horses just want to keep moving.

Ten marching bands, including four from mainland high schools, took part in this year’s parade. The Hawaii County Marching Band, including trombonist Wendell Leite (who celebrated his 70th year with the band last fall), kicked things off at the start of the parade.

Two hours after the band had moved out of the staging area, the final marching unit — Kamehameha Schools Hawaii marching band — awaited their cue to head up Pauahi.

Once the students had marched off, parade volunteers began uprooting the signs directing groups where to stand. But the parade wasn’t over just yet. It’s not over until the yellow fire trucks return to the staging area.

Back on Kamehameha Avenue, Stacey Beale and Maria Ochoa waited for the telltale teal of the Santiago High School Sharks’ custom aloha shirts to appear. The high school band is from Carson, Calif.

“Y’know what, this has been an amazing trip,” Beale said. The entire group — more than 200 students under the direction of Kris Parish — performed on Oahu earlier this week at Pearl Harbor and in Waikiki’s Salute to Youth parade.

The trip had been in the works for more than a year.

Merrie Monarch was the final stop.

“This island is incredible,” Beale said.

Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.