From beginning to end, the seven miles of the 118th Tournament of Roses parade yesterday was a walk in the park for Punahou School's 242-member marching band.

They turned with precision and at one point played continuously for a mile. Their sound was loud and clear.

What more can a band director ask of a marching band? said Keith Higaki, Punahou School's band director.

"It went great," Higaki said by phone from California. "All the practice paid off, and the kids were wonderful. They executed their turns perfectly."

Along the route through Pasadena, the band was met by whoops, clapping and bellowing of "Aloha."

"It was really long," said Dustin Suekawa, one of three drum majors who led the marching band yesterday. "I thought we did really well. We trained for this with extra practices. It was nerve-wracking in front of the judging booth. There were so many people on the street. We weren't used to that."

This was the Punahou band's third trip to the Rose Parade, the event that precedes the Rose Bowl game on New Year's Day. The band's last appearance was in 1999.

The band arrived in California on Dec. 26 and will leave for home today, Suekawa said. A total of 21 bands from around the country, and floral floats, participated in the two-hour parade, which is watched by as many as 1 million spectators. Each year, a band from Hawai'i participates.

Suekawa's mother, Lauren, swelled with pride as her son and the band passed by. She was surprised to see how many people responded to the student band members.

"It gave me chicken skin to see our kids marching in this parade," she said.

Even though a few of the band members were sick upon arriving in California, they all rose to the challenge, said parent Marianne Hultgren. Much of the fall semester was spent practicing for the grueling parade, one of the longer in the nation, Hultgren said.

"They did fabulously," Hultgren said. "It was really fun. We've had a great trip."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.