Pyrotechnicians designing the July Fourth fireworks displays prepped for launch this Saturday along Hilo Bayfront and Kailua-Kona’s Ali‘i Drive have said this year’s shows will feature a “little extra” in celebration of the United States of America’s 250th anniversary.

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Pyrotechnicians designing the July Fourth fireworks displays prepped for launch this Saturday along Hilo Bayfront and Kailua-Kona’s Ali‘i Drive have said this year’s shows will feature a “little extra” in celebration of the United States of America’s 250th anniversary.

These colorful, explosive spectacles will be the culmination of all-day, family-friendly events including parades, car shows, marathons and live music.

Kailua-Kona’s festivities will kick off with the 28th Annual UCC Coffee Kona Marathon starting at 5:30 a.m. near the Royal Kona Resort, where participants can choose between completing a full marathon, half marathon, quarter marathon or 5K.

In Hilo, the “A Salute to Our Veterans” Hilo Bay 5K Run/Walk/Roll will begin at 7 a.m. at Lili‘uokalani Gardens with separate courses for runners and walkers.

Kelvin Andrade is the operations manager for Big Island-based Hawaii Explosives and Pyrotechnics Inc., the company contracted to produce the shows by the Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation. It has been putting on the Kailua-Kona show since 2004 and the Hilo show since 2013.

Andrade told the Tribune-Herald that his company is stoked to ensure that Saturday’s festivities go out with a bang.

“I’m very excited, and our team is very excited to do it,” he said. “For us to be the exclamation point at the end of the night after all of these beautiful events is great. We’re very excited and thrilled to be a part of it and bring this forth for the community.”

He helped design the displays, which he said will incorporate themes of patriotism and freedom along with a healthy dose of American flag colors.

”This year, being that it’s America’s 250th anniversary, we went in a lot on the independence (theme),” he said. “We’re gonna integrate a lot of the red white and blue — a lot more than what we normally do — into these productions because it is a big thing this year. We did enhance the show a little bit more and add a little bit to it, just making it kind of a bigger bang than your average Fourth of July show, I would say.”

He said the trick to putting on the two displays — which are typically between eight to 10 minutes long — is to neither overwhelm nor underwhelm spectators, but keep a steady pace leading up to the grand finale.

“You can put so much into eight minutes and 10 minutes and still have a very nice aesthetic,” he said. “We don’t want to clutter it too much that you don’t have a nice visual appeal to it, but we do add that little extra important impact that we feel this year is bringing to the community.”

Although the explosives will be the same as any other year, he said, their presentations will look unique this time around to celebrate the once-in-a-lifetime moment.

“We are tweaking it a little bit,” he said. “It may not be a very dramatic change, but we did make some adjustments because it is a special occasion. We’re gonna use the same size fireworks that we use every year, but we may increase the shell count a little here and there, and we’re gonna throw some different looks and patterns and colors in there.”

Due to numerous safety risks, he said it’s best that trained technicians handle these types of explosives, although he sympathises with Hawaii’s unique cultural connection to pyrotechnics.

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”Fireworks are part of the culture here in Hawaii,” he said. “(If) you try and take fireworks away from the people of Hawaii, it’s a fight …people are very into (them), and we as a company are happy to be able to offer this to the community so they can experience fireworks and not put themselves in danger. We definitely want this kind of product to be in the hands of professionals. You do have to be mindful of a lot of things, and even the professionals — we do it all the time, so we have to remind ourselves not to get complacent about it because it is a very dangerous thing.”

Fireworks permits allowing for the purchase of up to 5,000 individual firecrackers will be available starting Monday at the following locations only: TNT Tent in the Hilo Safeway parking lot at 381 East Makaala St., TNT Tent in the Hilo Walmart parking lot at 325 East Makaala St., TNT Tent at the Keaau Greenhouse Specialist parking lot at 16-711 Milo St., TNT Tent at the Kona Walmart parking lot at 75-1015 Henry St., TNT Tent at the Waimea Bikes Hawaii parking lot at 64-1007 Mamalahoa Highway.

Permits cost $25, are nontranferable and nonrefundable, and can only be issued to people 18 years of age or older. Firecrackers and consumer fireworks are only allowed to be set off from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday.

Hilo events

7 a.m. — “A Salute to Our Veterans” Hilo Bay 5K Run/Walk/Roll 2026 will take place at Lili‘uokalani Gardens. For more information or to register, visit www.asalutetoourveterans.org.

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. — “Hot Rides Expo” featuring vintage, classic and futuristic vehicles will be held at the Hilo Bayfront Soccer Fields. All show vehicles are welcomed to enter at no charge starting at 7:30 a.m. at the former gas station on the corner of Kamehameha Avenue and Pauahi Street. Show vehicles are encouraged to stay until 3 p.m. The free expo will feature live music, food trucks, water slides and bounce-houses.

7 p.m. to 8 p.m. — The Hawaii County Band will conduct a performance starting at 7 p.m. at the Mooheau Park Bandstand and continuing through the “Hilo Bay Blast” fireworks exhibition at 8 p.m.

Hilo road closures: Lihiwai Street from Keliipio Lane to the entrance of Isle’s parking lot will be closed to vehicles from Friday at 10 p.m. through Sunday, July 5, at 10 a.m. Bayfront Highway from Waianuenue Avenue to Pauahi Street will be closed to vehicles from 6 p.m. through 10 p.m. on Saturday.

All gates along Mooheau Park and the Hilo Bayfront Soccer Fields will be open to allow spectators to access the Hilo Bay shoreline leading up to the fireworks show. All Hilo-area parks will remain open until 9 p.m. on Saturday only.

A kupuna viewing station will be set up at the Bayfront Soccer Fields, with shuttle service provided from Kamana Senior Center from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and from 8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Personal fireworks, alcohol, tobacco and e-cigarettes are prohibited at all county and state parks. No tents or canopies are permitted. Operation of UAVs/drones within five miles of Hilo and Kona airports and within county parks is also prohibited.

Kona events

5:30 a.m. — 28th Annual UCC Coffee Kona Marathon starting near the Royal Kona Resort, where participants can choose between completing a full marathon, half marathon, quarter marathon or 5K.

6 p.m. — Fourth of July Parade along Kuakini Highway and Ali‘i Drive starting at Kekuaokalani Gym, with theme “America the Beautiful.” Entry form and complete parade route can be found at www.paradesinkona.com.

8 p.m. — “Independence Day Extravaganza” fireworks exhibition.

Kona road closures: The parade route along Ali‘i Drive will be closed to vehicles starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The first section of the route from Kekuaokalani Gym to the intersection of Ali‘i Drive and Hualalai Road will reopen following the parade’s finish. Ali‘i Drive from Hualalai Road to Walua Road will remain closed until 9 p.m. following the fireworks show.

All marine vessels, including kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddle boards operating at night must use navigation lights and personal flotation devices. A 600-foot safety zone will be enforced around the fireworks barges.

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Email Stefan Verbano at [email protected].