Call it inventive planning.

To breathe new life into the Aloha Festivals, organizers have incorporated switcheroos that might initially confuse.

Take tonight's downtown ho'olaulea, this year dubbed the Downtown Mele. "We wanted to put a new spin on the popular block party, hopefully to attract a lot of locals back to the event," said Denice Keliikoa, mele organizer.

"We've had great downtown partnerships, with Downtown Improvement Association merchants' support. We want to make the event a place where those who work and live can enjoy the events."

The downtown celebration used to precede the Waikiki Ho'olaulea, which was held last weekend. The slot change also was intended to tweak the tradition somewhat to generate revitalized interest.

And Saturday's floral parade will begin with a visiting motorcycle drill team, said Kimo Keawe, parade coordinator. "It's still very much a local parade," he said, "but we're starting with the Indianapolis police group, which does a stand-up routine on the bikes, to start off the parade ... instead of the Honolulu Police Department. We figured if we put something exciting at the start, folks are going to say, 'Oooh, this is going to be great.' They come here about once every five years. They're a crowd-pleaser."

HPD will still have a role — closing out the parade as the last (instead of first) of 59 units.

With its 2005 theme, "Na Honu Hawai'i," or "The Spirit Within," the festival is renewing emphasis on Island traditions. The honu (turtle) theme, for instance, will prevail in the two major floats in the Saturday parade, which begins at 9 a.m. from the 'ewa end of Ala Moana park to Kapi'olani Park, traveling along Ala Moana and Kalakaua Avenue. Organizers predict the parade will last about 90 minutes.

"We'll have 12 pa'u units, and lots of local high school marching bands, and some military units," said Keawe, who is chairing his first Aloha Festivals parade although he is a veteran at planning similar parades through Waikiki and was 1999 festival president.

"Our two main floats are sponsored by the Hilton Hawaiian Village and Hawaiian Airlines, but it's become a challenge to get more floats because of the cost — which is about $25,000 to $30,000."

He recalls at least six big floats in seasons past, though there is no shortage of marching units and riders in cars or vans.

The largest single marching group will be the 250-member Pearl City High School Band, followed by the 232-member Moanalua High School band.

"We sent out letters to those who have participated before; this year, we got no responses from the beauty queens," he said, a bit surprised.

Tonight's mele offers something for everyone.

A couple of attractions will unfold a stone's throw away from the Bishop Street mainstream. One will be a block party, "Big Aloha for the Big Easy," a benefit for the University of New Orleans basketball program and Hurricane Katrina victims, from 6 to 10 p.m. on Nu'uanu Avenue between King and Merchant Streets, hosted by Murphy's Bar & Grill. The other is at Aloha Tower Marketplace, with similar timetable, where some restaurants are staging their own Aloha Festivals events.

The intent, said Keliikoa, is to provide a range of events catering to families and adult crowds. For instance, the restaurants will provide alcoholic drinks; vendors on Bishop Street won't. On Bishop, near Hawaiian Telcom, a Kids Zone component will provide amusements such as inflatables for the keiki crowd.

The mele boasts six stages along the Bishop Street corridor, with radio stations implementing a roster of diverse acts. About 13 food booths will provide Thai, Hawaiian, seafood and other choices; there will be some craft options, too.

"We want to enhance and enrich the Aloha Festivals experience," said Keliikoa. "We're striving for a good community event, with lots of Hawaiian talent and lots of aloha spirit."

A five-year volunteer, Keliikoa encourages those attending to purchase the $5 Aloha Festivals ribbons, which will be sold by roving officials. "That's a big way to help perpetuate the celebration," she said.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.