Road closures and tow-away zones in the Ala Moana Beach Park area will be in place Monday in advance of the 17th annual Lantern Floating Hawaii ceremony.
A shoreline crowd of about 50,000 people is expected for the sunset ceremony, during which roughly 6,000 glowing lanterns — affixed with messages to deceased loved ones, prayers and thoughts about peace — will drift in waters edging the beach park’s Magic Island.
The parking lot at Magic Island will close at 4 a.m. Monday, and parking will be off limits in the Waikiki-bound stretch of Ala Moana Boulevard, from Piikoi Street to Atkinson Drive. Free parking will be available at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, 7 a.m. to midnight. Shuttles will run to the event from the convention center starting at 3:30 p.m.
Attendees may request lanterns from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., or until the supply runs out. Organized by Shinnyo-en, a school of esoteric Buddhism, and Na Lei Aloha Foundation, the 90-minute ceremony, is set to begin at 6:15 p.m. It observes both Memorial Day and the upcoming Obon season. More information is available online at lanternfloatinghawaii. com.
Other Memorial Day observances:
» Pacific American Foundation’s Roll Call of Honor Remembrance Ceremony, 10 a.m. Sunday at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.
» Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program candlelight ceremony honoring all interred veterans, 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Punchbowl.
» The Army will hold its annual Memorial Day remembrance 10 a.m. Monday at Schofield Barracks. Col. Richard A. Fromm, commander, U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii, is expected to speak. Representatives from various organizations including Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans will place wreaths to honor the fallen.
» Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell will lead the city and county’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Monday at Punchbowl. No vehicular traffic will be allowed into the cemetery. Free parking will be available at the Frank Fasi Municipal Building lot, with city buses shuttling people to the cemetery from the Alapai Transit Center between 7 and 8 a.m.
» The Governor’s Memorial Day Ceremony will be at 12:45 p.m. Monday at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe. Gov. David Ige will speak. The event runs through 3 p.m.
