The annual Waikiki Holiday Parade tomorrow night will feature 66 entries, 25 marching bands, 20 Pearl Harbor survivors, and the true spirit of Christmas.

What could be better?

"If you could see these kids (in the marching bands) ... " said parade organizer Jake Peppers. "These kids are so great."

The Liberty High School band from Pennsylvania includes 15 bagpipes.

"It's one of the most magnificent high school bands you'll ever want to see," Peppers said. "They have these bearskin hats and they wear these real British uniforms."

A COMMUNITY REPAIR

The true spirit part comes in with community help to repair the Pagdilao family's 2-ton, 30-foot Santa sleigh float, which was damaged by thieves on Oct. 31.

The 'Ewa Beach family's float — the second it's had since the early 1980s — was stored in a quonset hut in Kalaeloa.

"They stole the motor to run the reindeer, they cut all the wiring, they stole fluorescent fixtures and lights," said John Pagdilao.

Peppers said a family member had called him in tears to say the float couldn't be in the parade because it had been wrecked.

"They have eight life-size reindeer on it and 5,000 lights," Peppers said.

But when a newspaper story was written about the damage, the community reacted.

"(The family said) the guys who used to be little boys and run after the float showed up as adults and said, 'We'll help you put it back together,' " Peppers said.

John Pagdilao yesterday said the work is just about done, and the float will be in tomorrow's parade.

"We had a lot (of people) that came in ... and we had people just drive by when we were fixing the float and stop and they'd give $10 or $20 to help out," he said.

65 YEARS SINCE DEC. 7

With the 65th anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack coming up, Peppers decided to add a Pearl Harbor theme to the eighth annual Waikiki Holiday Parade.

Eight survivors from Hawai'i along with 12 from the Mainland will be in the parade. Many will be riding in vintage Mustang automobiles. The parade starts at Fort DeRussy, heads down Kalakaua Avenue, and finishes at the Honolulu Zoo.

With most survivors in their 80s and 90s, getting 20 for the parade was quite a feat. Health was a factor in finding veterans strong enough to make the trip.

There are those using wheelchairs and walkers, and one who felt up to hiking up Diamond Head had to be rescued.

"But they are here, and they are so grateful," Peppers said. "They've got some stories to tell."

Like John Weinberger of Wisconsin, who was on the destroyer tender USS Whitney.

"He was about to be discharged from the Navy because he had chronic seasickness, but Pearl Harbor happened and they said he was the best welder on the ship and they kept him in," Peppers said.

Weinberger was wounded during the attack and he had amnesia.

"His captain told him to go home to his wife for a while, and he said he didn't have a wife," Peppers said. "They were telling that story this morning, and she said, 'He knows he has one now.' "

The couple is celebrating a second honeymoon in Hawai'i.

The DoubleTree Alana Hotel sponsors the parade and put up $7,500 for it, $4,800 of which goes for police assistance, Peppers said.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.