The thousands who cheered for the 92nd annual King Kamehameha Day parade from Downtown to Waikiki were joined for the first time yesterday by statewide television viewers.

That added audience is something organizers hope will breathe new life into a historic institution that has persevered under the weight of escalating costs, declining resources, security restrictions, fewer volunteers and the loss of funding that it once relied on.

State funding for the parade ended in 1996, and the parade got smaller. Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the financial difficulties have only become worse, said BJ Allen, parade director and King Kamehameha Celebration Commission administrator.

"It's extremely small this time," Allen said. "I believe this is the smallest."

But none of that seemed to matter for those who reveled yesterday in the parade lineup, which included marching bands, equestrian pa'u riders, floats, fancy cars and an army of costumed marchers.

Joining a longtime parade icon, the Royal Hawaiian Band, was a first-time participant, the St. Clair High School Marching Bulldogs from Missouri. That state was doubly represented by the Hickman High School Marching Band, making its second appearance at the parade.

For many parade watchers, it was a chance to gather under sunny skies and cheer on a one-of-a-kind event: The second oldest parade in America, and the only one that celebrates a king.

"I've been to many Kamehameha Day parades," said Chizumi Gilbert, who yesterday brought along her American cocker spaniel, Maro, a joyful, tail-wiggling, unofficial greeter to anyone passing by.

Maro likes anything and everything about the parade, according to Gilbert, who confessed to enjoying one parade component above all others:

"I'll tell you what I like," she said with a giggle and a sheepish grin. "The macho guys at the start of the parade!"

That would be the float carrying King Kamehameha and the bevy of stout warriors making up his court. This year's king, former All-American volleyball player Pono Ma'a, an Education Support Services Division worker at Kamehameha Schools, was apparently everything Gilbert had hoped for.

Before the parade began, she and Maro stationed themselves by the intersection at Richards and King streets to get a close-up look.

Meanwhile, for the fifth time, Kalie Cadawas, a Kaua'i horse trainer and lei maker, was waiting to lead the parade on horseback, bearing the crimson and gold Kamehameha Day parade banner.

"It's totally an honor to be invited back," said Cadawas, seconds before he and his horse, River, moved from Richards Street onto King to start the parade at 9:30 a.m. Still, Cadawas acknowledged that only three Neighbor Islands were represented among this year's pa'u riders — Moloka'i, Lana'i and Ni'ihau.

"I think the others weren't able to make it for financial reasons," he said.

Allen, the parade director, said she hoped the TV coverage would make more people aware of the parade and its historical importance. She also hopes people will find out that the parade needs more active participants to survive.

Needed are folks who will sponsor a unit, contribute flowers, supply space to build floats, or donate their time, money or experience.

"This is not an everyday occurrence," said Allen, who called the parade a showcase of many elements of the Hawaiian culture. "It's important just for the fact that we're able to honor a person of Kamehameha's stature, and to celebrate what he stands for to Hawai'i's people, whether or not they are Hawaiian."

The first Kamehameha Day parade — which featured two bands, no floats, a procession of marchers from Hawaiian societies, and a riding club — was held on June 10, 1916, and it traveled from 'A'ala Park along King Street to the parade's current starting point, near the statue of Kamehameha I, across from 'Iolani Palace.

That first parade was an addition to a celebration that began in June 1872 by virtue of a royal proclamation from Kamehameha IV to honor his grandfather, Kamehameha the Great.

This year's parade was dedicated to Allen's late mother, Keahi Allen, who for years was the parade's driving force.

Adrian Kamali'i, the event's present commission chair, credits Keahi Allen with saving the parade from extinction more than once during tough times in the past.

Her daughter now hopes to carry on that tradition herself.