17 years ago, a group comprised of members of the staff at the Shipman Ltd. office, came up with an idea to put on a Christmas parade for the community. Arline Macanas, Jiro Samada, Sherwin Taka, Jamil Ahmadia, Gaye Chi and Bill Walters made up that small group back in 2004.

Macanas, Samada and Chi walked around the Kea’au area to invite neighboring businesses to participate in the parade. They also put out advertisements to invite businesses and schools that were not in the area. Their goal? To bring the Kea’au community together to celebrate the holidays with participating businesses and schools and most importantly, one another.
Pre-Covid, parades were what we all grew up with and knew: finding a good spot on the sidewalk and anxiously waiting for any signs of the first band, car, or float to pass by. For children, it was anticipation and pure joy. For adults, it was the enjoyment of seeing that joy and wonder on our children’s faces.

This year, due to government restrictions and precautionary measures, the parade has been planned as a drive thru to ensure and promote the safety of the participants and spectators. While it is a new concept to adjust to, parade spectators can expect to see cars, trucks and floats decked out with lights and other decorations to follow the parade theme, “Back to Our Future”, while driving through.


Information for the Community
-Parade Drive Thru begins at 6P and ends at 7P.
-Enter the drive thru of off of Highway 130.
-At the entrance, pick up a ballot to vote for your top 3 displays.
-There will be parade participants passing out goodies wearing gloves and masks, so please be sure to be masked as well.
-Please drive thru at a slow, but decent, pace, while paying attention to the vehicle ahead.
-Drop off your completed ballot upon exiting the parade.
-Exit onto Kea’au-Pahoa Road either toward Kea’au or Pahoa.

In years past, the Parade Committee decided the winners of the parade participants. This year, YOU, the community, get to choose! Be sure to vote and let everyone know!
If you are interested in being a participant for this year’s Kea’au Drive Thru Parade, there is still time! Contact Monica Macanas by email at monmac@hawaii.rr.com or via the committee’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Keaau-Christmas-Parade-1426915987522374/ to request an application packet.
Got an upcoming event? Let us know here: https://bigislandpulse.com/contact/.

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