Brownie Initiation Ceremony and Christmas Parade in Hilo.......And we were all in it!

Saturday night was Hilo's Christmas parade, which is probably Hilo's second largest parade, second only to the Merry Monarch's parade.

Charlotte had her Brownie troop initiation ceremony at the park where the parade starts just before the parade started. This is the ceremony in which the Brownies wannabes actually become Brownies (there is more detail to that, but you will have to ask Charlotte)

Here are Hana and some of her friends playing on the coconut trees before everyone else arrived.

Charlotte explaining them what the ceremony is going to be about, and asking them questions of what it means being a Girl Scout..... And how when they grow up they will be "Juniors" like Sydney..... Then the ceremony which involves some kind of baptism ritual involving water.....or the Brownie seeing her reflection in the water....something of that sort.... (no one ended in the water though).

Here is Sydney showing them how are they supposed to look for their reflection on the water...

The Ceremony...
Hana being "pinned"
And now, she's officially a Brownie!

The mama scout and her little chicks......

The three Romo Girl Scouts...

Brownie Troop #59...

After the Brownie initiation ceremony we had a potluck and then it was time to get the Brownies and the Juniors lined up for the parade. Here they are practicing their positions and practicing some Carol singing....

There were big trucks all decked in lights....

and the troop was right in front of them....

Even Mauna Kea was all dressed up in fancy lights for the parade

Angels in the parade

the always Cheerful Leader of the Troop...During the Parade....

Pictures taken by our friend Leslie (who was there with Macario, Ema Rose, Jim & Jerry)

Shortly after these pictures were taken, Hilo weather gave us a typical Hilo Downpour.....for the last stretch of the parade the girls lead by their fearless leader marched through a downpour of biblical proportions to the cheers of all the hardcore parade spectators......

It was great!

Big Mahalo to the Brownie and Girl Scout leader without whom this would have not been possible! Hip Hip ...Hurray!