The King

Fourth of July on the Big Island

Even Elvis showed up on Alii Drive for this year’s Independence Day parade on the Big Island Hawaii.

Loni Stark
07.10.2010 | View Comments

Even Elvis showed up on Alii Drive for this year's Independence Day parade on the Big Island Hawaii.

While StarkSilverCreek contributor Cy Ashley Webb was celebrating Independence Day to the tune of the San Francisco Symphony at Shoreline, Clint and I spent our Fourth of July on the Big Island watching Elvis walking down Alii Drive.

Yes, the King himself was part of the 15th Annual Kailua-Kona Independence Day Parade organized by the Kailua-Kona Community Parade Association. At this year’s parade, United States Senator Daniel K. Inouye was the Grand Marshal.

The parade participants assembled in Kona Kekua’okalani Gym and started down the traditional route from Kuakini Hwy to Palani Road, then onto Ali’i Drive to the Coconut Grove Marketplace.

I was stationed at the end of the parade, waiting in anticipation for the arrival of the start of the parade. Just before the parade arrived on Ali’i Drive, it started to rain and many of the onlookers had scramble for shelter along the many shops and restaurants.

Fortunately, by the time the parade arrived, the rain had petered down to a drizzle.

Here are the shots I snapped of the event.

Loni Stark
Loni Stark is a self-professed foodie, adventure travel seeker and passionate about technology’s impact on business and creativity. She's also the host of Stark Insider TV. It’s been said her laugh can be heard from San Jose all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. She makes no claims to super powers, although sushi is definitely her Kryptonite. As director, product and industry marketing at Adobe, Loni oversees global product positioning, and go-to-market strategy and operations for Adobe’s web experience management business. Loni's story...
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  • Loni Kao Stark

    One piece of clarification.

    The Elvis photo in this article is not the real Big Island Elvis. A few readers wrote in and were kind enough to clarify that the real Big Island Elvis was the one that arrived a little later in the parade in Cadillac convertible. Everyone was cheering and happy to see that he was able to make it all the way from Hilo to be part of the celebration.

    I do apologize for any confusion both the real Big Island Elvis and to the residents of the Big Island. Big Island Elvis obviously means a lot to the community and he has done a lot for it through his charity concerts.

    Mahalo

  • Loni Kao Stark

    One piece of clarification.

    The Elvis photo in this article is not the real Big Island Elvis. A few readers wrote in and were kind enough to clarify that the real Big Island Elvis was the one that arrived a little later in the parade in Cadillac convertible. Everyone was cheering and happy to see that he was able to make it all the way from Hilo to be part of the celebration.

    I do apologize for any confusion both the real Big Island Elvis and to the residents of the Big Island. Big Island Elvis obviously means a lot to the community and he has done a lot for it through his charity concerts.

    Mahalo