FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                             September 3, 2005 Release No. M-65

UPDATE ON PARADE OF BASEBALL CHAMPIONS

The City’s first “Parade of Baseball Champions” on Monday will include three championship youth baseball teams and seven other teams that represented Hawaii in national competition.

            Grand marshals will be the West Oahu/Ewa Beach All-Stars, who won the Little League World Series last Sunday. The players and their parents and coaches will ride to Waikiki in a “trolleycade” leaving Ewa Mahiko Park at 3 p.m. to Waikiki.

      To help Ewa residents, Gomes School Bus Service will provide two school buses to carry passengers at no cost to Waikiki. The ride will be free. The buses will leave from the Ewa Beach Boys and Girls Club, 91-884 Fort Weaver Road, at 3 p.m.

The Parade of Baseball Champions begins at Fort DeRussy at 5 p.m. Each of the West Oahu Little League champs and his parents will ride in a convertible.

They will be preceded by the Cal Ripken World Series champion Oahu Stars and the Continental Amateur Baseball Association 9-and-under World Series champion Hawaii Warriors, who will ride on trolleys in the parade.  

There will also be a special float made by personnel from the City  Department of Emergency Services on their own time.

            In addition, the following teams will march in the parade:

·       Hawaii, Babe Ruth 13-15 World Series runners-up (Abbeville, Louisiana).

·       Pearl City Little League Seniors, World Series runners-up (Bangor, Maine).

·       Pearl City Little League Juniors, World Series semifinalists (Taylor, Michigan).

·       Hawaii Warriors, Kids International Hawaii World Series 12-and-under champions.

·       Mililani Prep Girls Softball Team, Amateur Softball Association Girls 18-under Fast Pitch Western National Champions (Portland, Oregon).

·       Altima, 14-and-under Triple Crown Softball Northwest Champions (New Mexico).

·       Mililani-Waipio All-Stars, 14-and-under National Bobby Sox All-Star Tournament semifinalists.

SPECIAL GUESTS:

·       Former Major League pitcher and Ewa native Mike Fetters,

·       Former Major League pitcher Sid Fernandez,

·       University of Hawaii baseball coach Mike Trapasso,

·       Retired University of Hawaii baseball coach Les Murakami,

·       Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame member and former San Francisco 49er Wally Yonamine.

OTHER PARADE PARTICIPANTS:

·       U.S. Air Force color guard

·       The Royal Hawaiian Band

·       Waipahu High School Marching Band and Pep Squad

·       Campbell High School color guard, drill team, ROTC, pep squad and flag team.

·       Kapolei High School Marching Band and Pep Squad

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

·       3:00 p.m. – Trolley motorcade with West Oahu Little League champs leaves Ewa for Waikiki. The trolleycade, with police escort, will proceed to Fort Weaver Road, go on Farrington Highway through Waipahu, proceed to Kamehameha Highway in Pearl City, moving on to Nimitz Highway. The trolleycade will proceed along Nimitz to Ala Moana Boulevard, then on Fort DeRussy, where the parade participants will stage. Motorists should expect delays along the route. The public is invited to line the streets and congratulate the championship team.

·       5:00 p.m. – Parade of Champions leaves Fort DeRussy and moves down Kalakaua Avenue to Queen’s Beach.

·       6:30 p.m. – Formal program begins at the Sunset on the Beach set at Queen’s Beach. To kick off Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s Operation Katrina Kokua, a booth will be set up to collect donations for the American Red Cross to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.

·       7:05 p.m. – Little League World Series championship game is shown on the 30-foot Sunset on the Beach screen.

WAIKIKI PARKING:

 As with Sunset on the Beach, the Waikiki Improvement Association’s "Holoholo Parking" partners provide affordable parking in Waikiki ($1/hour, 5 hours max.) upon availability.  Participating partners are the KING KALAKAUA PLAZA (2080 Kalakaua Avenue), OHANA EAST (150 Ka'iulani Avenue), and the RADISSON WAIKIKI PRINCE KUHIO (2500 Kuhio Avenue).  Rates and locations are subject to change without prior notice, so please check with the parking garage.  Parking is also available at  WAIKIKI TRADE CENTER ($6 all day Saturday/Sunday) and the WAIKIKI PARKING GARAGE ($6 flat; no overnight parking).  For more information, please visit http://www.waikikiimprovement.com/holoholo.html.

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Contact:

Bill Brennan, 527-6928

Mark Matsunaga, 527-5767