Every year, for more than seven decades, the Kailua Independence Day Parade has taken place like clockwork.
Families start setting up camp the night before — or sooner — along the 1.5-mile stretch of Kainalu Drive between Omao Street and Kailua Intermediate School. With the exception of three years during the COVID pandemic, the community parade has gone on without a hitch as a mainstay in the beach town, drawing an eclectic mix of participants and thousands of spectators.
“Every year that I’ve done it, there’s been pretty much a resounding, special feeling,” said Asia Marie Di Antonio, Kailua Chamber of Commerce parade committee chair for the past four years. “As politically divided as people can be — at the Kailua Fourth of July parade, it doesn’t feel like that. It feels like every person there is coming together, not just to celebrate the Fourth of July, but truly be together as a community. That’s what it feels like at the core.”
Thus, the theme of the 77th Kailua Independence Day Parade is “Stronger Together,” she said, representing a gathering that is bigger than any one individual.
Rebecca Cummings, Kailua Chamber of Commerce president, said the parade’s focus is on how everyone is more similar than different, and bringing people together in a positive way. Both longtime and newer businesses in Kailua look forward to the parade, along with the fireworks later in the evening at Kailua Beach Park.
Every year, the procession gets larger, and now includes several marching bands, vintage Volkswagen Beetles, creative floats by local businesses and nonprofits — and Uncle Sam.
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Participants roll along in cars, and on unicycles, bicycles, roller skates and horses. The mix includes politicians, veterans, local schools, Scouts, hula halau, beauty pageant title holders, and dogs.
The Royal Hawaiian Band is confirmed this year, along with the Marine Corps Forces Pacific Band and popular Kukui High School Alumni Marching Band inspired by “Hawaii Five-O.”
Di Antonio said this year will feature Kailua High School, her alma mater, as parade grand marshals, to be represented by football coach Joe Wong alongside principal Jill Spry.
It’s a nod to the Kailua High School football team, which celebrated its first state Division I championship title in November.
Diane Harding, president of the Lani-Kailua branch of The Outdoor Circle, says the parade is a beloved tradition.
The nonprofit goes all out on its float, which it has entered every year since the parade began in 1949, and this year will be no different. This year’s float will feature a banyan tree, with roots and leaves representing what makes Kailua strong.
Di Antonio says thousands of people gathered to watch the parade last year, and that she expects the same level of crowd this year.
Last year, an outside political group requested that the Chamber cancel the parade — according to Di Antonio, as a statement against the policies of the Trump administration.
“People have a lot of strong opinions,” said Di Antonio, a third-generation Kailuan. “Some people thought it wasn’t for the good of the community to celebrate when times are hard because it might represent something they don’t necessarily agree with.”
The committee decided, however, to go ahead with the parade, she said, because “it’s mostly aloha and people wanting to come together.”
There has also been peaceful protest from a grassroots group.
Every year, Ka ‘Ahahui Hawai‘i Aloha ‘Aina Hawaiian Patriotic League protests near the gateway to Kailua Town on the Fourth of July, with another planned from 1 to 4 p.m. this year. The “Not My Independence Day” protest calls for restoration of Hawaiian independence.
In July 2020, there was also controversy over an American flag display by the Chamber that was installed to inspire unity that year, since the parade and fireworks show were canceled due to the pandemic.
Protesters removed dozens of the flags and replaced them with Hawaiian flags, which were then removed. The Chamber later issued an apology for removing the Hawaiian flags.
The parade returned in 2023, with parade organizers teaming up with the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs. The Chamber says this one is special because it’s also a celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
Politics aside
Hawaii’s politicians, from mayor to governor and Congressmembers have often participated, along with political candidates running for office.
They include Tulsi Gabbard, former U.S. Director of National Intelligence, when she was a Congresswoman representing Hawaii n 2016. The late Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa participated, as did a succession of Hawaii’s governors.
Gov. Josh Green and Honolulu Mayor Blangiardi, along with many others, are expected to participate this year.
All dignitaries holding office are formally invited, said Di Antonio, along with any political candidates, as long as they register by the deadline.
“Most do want to participate,” she said. “The only time they usually don’t participate is if they get called away.”
Congresswoman Jill Tokuda, who represented Kailua as a state Senator and participated for years, was held up from participating last year in order to vote on H.R. 1., also known as the One Beautiful Bill Act. She says she was unable to fly in on time from Washington, D.C., but looks forward to being in it this year.
“It’s just a really, feel-good, hometown parade,” she said, adding that it’s a tradition for political representatives to walk it. “You know, you literally have the uncles right at the front as you’re stepping out there, sitting in their front yard, giving you a hug.”
She finds it heartwarming to see family, friends, and familiar faces along the parade route, along with keiki blowing bubbles and having fun. She looks forward to the shave ice fundraiser at the end.
“It’s a nice way to celebrate the birthday of our country,” she said.
During politically divisive times, she said it’s more important than ever “to create intentional moments for us to gather together and to celebrate what unifies us.”
“We have to create these opportunities to come together and recognize that, in many cases, we have very similar values and share experiences, histories, and backgrounds,” she said, “and we can make the next 250 years better. That has to be the message.”
Alan Fentriss, a Kailua resident who has taken on the role of “Uncle Sam” for the past few years, says the parade is part of the fabric of the community. His family has watched, and been part of the parade, for decades.
Fentriss remembers when his son, now grown, marched in the parade with the Kainalu Little League baseball team.
When the parade committee handed him the costume and asked him to play “Uncle Sam” a few years ago, he accepted. Amazingly, the costume fit perfectly, according to Fentriss, who is 6-feet-6-inches tall. He tried to return it, but the Chamber told him to keep it, and he’s been “Uncle Sam” ever since.
It’s fun to see “just about everybody I know by the time the parade is over,” he said. He smiles, waves, and points, and has come up with key phrases like, “Happy Birthday! Please remember to pay your taxes.”
It’s one day to put political divisions aside and celebrate a love for the country together.
“I think the crowds are just there to have a great time, enjoy traditions and celebrate our country,” he said. “These types of traditions are times when we can all be kids — it doesn’t seem to matter the age.”
| KAILUA INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE | |
|---|---|
| When | Starts at 10 a.m. on the 4th of July |
| Where | Kainalu Drive (Starts at Omao St. intersection, ends by Kailua Intermediate School) |
| What | Some 250 marchers, 45 vehicles, 20 floats, 3 bands and more. |
| Theme | Stronger Together, presented by Adventist Health Castle |
| KAILUA FIREWORKS | |
| When | 8 p.m. on the 4th of July |
| Where | Kailua Beach Park |
| Free shuttle | Alexander & Baldwin is providing complimentary shuttle service from parking lot at Lau Hala Shops to Kailua Beach Center, 4:30 to 10:30 p.m. in 30-minute rotations. |
| More info | kailuafireworks.com |
| ABOUT THIS SERIES: America250 Hawaii | |
| America250 Hawaii — America’s Anniversary, Hawaii’s Story — examines how the islands mark a national 250th anniversary amid a distinct political and cultural history. The series traces Hawaii’s path from precontact society to kingdom, overthrow, annexation and statehood, and shows how that past shapes today’s debates over patriotism, belonging and historical memory across Hawaii’s diverse communities. | |
| COMING UP | |
| Wednesday | Maui’s paniolo history intersects with early America |
| Thursday | Kauai and Hawaii island offer distinct 250th narratives |
| Friday | Why do some Hawaiians abstain from the Fourth of July? |
| Saturday | Diversity shapes the Fourth of July in Hawaii |
| Sunday | Hawaii’s veterans reflect on the 250th |