Malulani Antonio of Wahiawa sat alongside Kalakaua Avenue yesterday, clutching her digital camera and waiting to catch a glimpse of 12-year-old baseball hero Layson Aliviado.

"He's so hot," said Malulani, 13, holding a newspaper with Aliviado on the cover.

She was among tens of thousands who gathered in Waikiki yesterday evening for the Parade of Baseball Champions honoring Little League World Series champion West O'ahu, the Cal Ripken champion O'ahu All-Stars and others.

Following the parade that stretched for 1.3 miles down Kalakaua Avenue, hundreds more gathered for a Sunset on the Beach replay of the Aug. 28 Little League World Series championship game against Curacao. It capped a weeklong celebration of the never-say-die West O'ahu team that captured the imagination of a state as it won youth baseball's most prestigious title.

"This is fantastic and great for Hawai'i," said Les Murakami, the former University of Hawai'i baseball coach, before riding down the parade route. Murakami said he followed the West O'ahu Little League team closely and "never believed they would lose."

Sheyne "Bubbles" Baniaga sat in a convertible with his mother Denise. "It feels really good to have people excited about us," he said.

Baniaga and his West O'ahu teammates arrived in Waikiki after riding through 'Ewa Beach on a trolley, greeted along the route by people holding congratulatory signs.

Denise Baniaga said she was overwhelmed by yesterday's experience.

"I still can't get over this," she said. "I'm happy that Hawai'i has been so supportive of the kids."

Fujio said it wasn't too hard to organize the parade, even considering the last-minute notice.

"There was no shortage of people wanting to participate," he said.

But he wanted it to be small so the focus remained on the championship teams, he said.

The O'ahu All-Stars, winners of the Cal Ripken World Series, also were on hand in yesterday's parade.

Robin Kalohelani, 36, mother of O'ahu All-Star player Cash Kalohelani, said she was proud her son was in a parade for all the championship-winning baseball teams.

"This is kind of a reward for all the hard work the kids and the parents put in," Robin Kalohelani said.

Carlene Hart, 54, of Waikiki arrived more than an hour early to witness the parade.

"These kids are such positive role models, even for the adults," said Hart, an avid baseball fan. "I wouldn't have missed this."

Parade participants included other Hawai'i teams that advanced to their respective World Series: the Hawai'i Warriors, champions of the Continental Amateur Baseball Association 9-and-under World Series; and the Pearl City Junior Little League and Senior Little League teams.

During the activities, Mayor Mufi Hannemann kicked off Operation Katrina Kokua, a drive to raise money for victims of last week's Gulf Coast hurricane.