Kailua-Kona Independence Day celebration to include fireworks, revert to normal start time

KAILUA-KONA — Fireworks are coming to Kailua-Kona.

A “Parade Under the Stars,” this year’s theme for Kailua-Kona’s Independence Day festivities, will actually take place under the stars despite Kilauea volcano casting a shadow of doubt over the timing and content of the celebration — including the fireworks show traditionally held immediately on the heels of the procession.

The decision came down to dollars and sense. Would the county and its people be better served by spending the $30,000 collectively budgeted for Fourth of July entertainment in Kailua-Kona, Hilo and Waikoloa elsewhere — say, for relief efforts in Puna?

Could the county sensibly justify spending the money on anything else?

“This year, we decided we’re not getting the county funds and there’s no way we can go out there and ask people to donate money,” said Barbara Kossow, Hawaii County deputy managing director and co-chair of the Kailua-Kona Community Parade Association.

It appears, however, Mayor Harry Kim decided the show must go on, and that it was better for island morale everywhere if it did.

“I’m not sure what changed,” Kossow said. “I don’t know if it’s because of my boss. (Kim) says we need to continue normalcy and … we can’t cut back on everything.”

And so $10,000 from the Hawaii Fire Department, generated from firework permit sales over New Year’s, returned to the Kailua-Kona Independence Day budget. The parade itself, which had been moved to a 10 a.m. start, reverted to its normal running time of 6-8 p.m., and the county scheduled the fireworks show for 8 p.m.

The parade committee was still short of the $35,000 total required to stage a 10-minute fireworks display, however, and the Kailua Village Business Improvement District stepped up. Not only did the organization decide to donate to the show for the first time, to the tune of $5,000, but Ross Wilson and Debbie Baker of the KVBID took up community fundraising efforts to round out the money needed.

As of Wednesday, KVBID and the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau had pledged $5,000 each to the cause. Kona Commons had already submitted a check for $3,500 and Paradise Helicopters had donated $1,000. Other businesses and individuals have either sent in or pledged donations between $100 and $2,000.

Kossow said as long as every pledge is actually donated, fundraising for the fireworks is complete. If the committee ends up short, it will use parade entry fees from politicians to make up the difference. Politicians marching with 50 people or fewer pay an entrance fee of $400 and the procession itself costs about $2,000 to stage.

As for the 23rd annual Kailua-Kona Fourth of July Parade, this year’s grand marshal is Joseph C. Palacat Sr. Now a resident of Oahu, Palacat was born Aug. 8, 1923, at Pepeekeo Sugar Plantation on Hawaii Island. He joined the Hawaii Territorial Guard at age 17 and became a part of the regular Army in fall 1944, after which he fought in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

Of Filipino descent, Palacat was sent to the Philippines where he was assigned to the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment. He was part of a dangerous, so-called “Mop-Up” Operation, in which he and his fellow soldiers ventured into the jungle seeking to root out enemy combatants hidden in caves and secret bunkers.

Palacat, now 94 years old, was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal in May, the military’s highest civilian award, as were the some 260,000 Filipino veterans of World War II.

President Franklin Roosevelt created the U.S. Army Forces of the Far East in 1941, pledging full veterans’ benefits to all Filipino soldiers who enlisted. President Harry Truman rescinded that offer in 1946, after the war had been won, and those soldiers lost their status as U.S. military veterans.

It wasn’t until 2016 that President Barack Obama signed legislation stipulating those Filipino veterans would receive the Congressional Gold Medal.

Palacat’s 9-year-old great-grandson will join him as part of the parade festivities Wednesday night.

“We have such strong island community and it’s a great time for people with so many backgrounds … to come together and to honor one of the Big Island’s own,” said Renee Kraft, who with Kossow co-chairs the Kailua-Kona Community Parade Association.

Vendors will open shop at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Hale Halawai for a craft fair. Any who would like to set up a booth, selling food or crafts, may contact Kossow at 938-0806.

The parade will kick off with the annual LavaKids Fun Run before the official procession begins at 6 p.m. The parade route will begin at the Kekuaokalani Gymnasium on Kuakini Highway and end at the Royal Kona Resort on Alii Drive, complete with seven announcing stations.

Sections of Kuakini stretching back to Loloku Street and extending to the Alii Drive intersection will reopen once the last of the roughly 45 parade entrants have completed that portion of the route. Alii Drive will be closed until the fireworks show concludes.

Those seeking more information may find it at the Parades in Kona website, www.paradesinkona.com, or on its Facebook page.