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Prince Kuhio Parade to travel through Waikiki

DENNIS ODA / 2015

Noreen Saito and Mona Joy Lum waved during the annual Prince Kuhio Commemoration Parade in Waikiki. The parade honors the dedication and commitment of individuals and organizations that work year-round to practice and to perpetuate the Hawaiian culture.

The weeklong, statewide celebration of Prince Kuhio wraps up this weekend with the annual Prince Kuhio Commemoration Parade Saturday in Waikiki.

The event, sponsored by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, starts at 9:30 a.m. and will feature 800 marchers, 35 vehicles, two floats and two marching bands, according to the City and County of Honolulu. It starts on Kalakaua Avenue and Saratoga Road and wraps up at Queen Kapiolani Park. Kalakaua Avenue will be closed starting at 8:30 a.m.

The public may also commemorate the prince by putting lei on Kuhio’s statue, which sits in front Kuhio beach on Kalakaua Avenue. State officials placed the statue there in 2007.

Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, cousin of Queen Liliuokalani, was known for his efforts with the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 and 1921, and as the founder of the first Hawaiian Civic Club. The act formed the Hawaiian Homes Commission and enabled the state to provide homestead land for Native Hawaiians.

Referred to as “the citizen prince,” he was an elected representative in for the Territory of Hawaii in U.S. Congress for 20 years.

Tuesday marked the official Prince Kuhio Day, which was created in 1949 when the state Legislature declared the monarch’s birthday, March 26, a state holiday.

“It is our humble way of honoring a citizen of royal heritage whose insight and commitment laid the framework for organizations and institutions we have today,” according to the Prince Kuhio Day Festival website.

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