North Shore NewsCalifornia Hotel, Las Vegas, May 3, 2023
For those that don’t know, the Jubilee is an annual gathering in Las Vegas of graduates from Waialua High & Intermediate School. The event was founded by Eileen Maeshiro, alumni from the class of 1948. She wanted to plan her 50th reunion in Las Vegas and needed 50 or more people to secure a dining area. She had only 38 but luck would have it, other graduates asked to attend and she ended up with 104. That was the first Waialua Jubilee in May of 1998. It is planned on the 1st Wednesday in May to avoid Mother’s Day and at the time, there was a Nisei Charter bus from California to Vegas on Tuesdays. Since then, the Jubilee is passed to the next class in line…resulting in the class celebrating their 50th reunion hosting the Jubilee.
The WHS class of ’73 hosted the 25th Waialua Jubilee on May 3, 2023 at the California Hotel. Registration was robust starting in early December and sold out in mid-February with 376 registered attendees, almost double from the year before.
The “small but mighty” (class motto) started the process with a beautiful 4-minute video taken with drones during covid focusing on the panoramic views of driving home to Waialua (search YouTube 25th Waialua Jubilee).
The ’73 reunion committee decided on the theme…”Old Friends, New Memories” and “Waialua’s Got Talent”. They brought their classmates, the “Fabulous Krush”, out of retirement to perform their popular hits. So the music and dancing was outstanding! They also featured other Waialua talents like Lance Orillo, Albert Amber, and Robert John Albios.
Alumni from 1948 to 2021 were present…some families had 4 generations! There were many siblings, cousins and classmates! There was a lot of reminiscing, catching up and reconnections…”Old Friends, New Memories”.
The evening ended with the introduction of the Class of 1974 who will present the Jubilee next year on May 1, 2024 at the California Hotel.
Search Youtube “5-3-23 Waialua Jubilee 4K” for a 19-minute video of the Jubilee. Watch for next year’s registration on social media. Hope to see everyone next year!