We are going to be in Honolulu for the 4th. Any suggestions as to special events for the day and where to view the fireworks??

visit the calendar section at the Hawaii visitors bureau website. I think it is Go-to-Hawaii.com?

Not to be a downer, but it is awful. Not quite as bad as New Years where you can't even see five feet in front of you to drive. And they have passed many more laws recently. Most of us hide in our homes with all of the cracks covered with towels. The amount of sulfur in the air is awful. They even have safe houses for people with breathing problems. The noise is awful too. The best spot would be out on the beach or parking lot area across the beach from the Hilton.

Kailua always has a show too. I don't like to be out on the roads though.

That's during Bayfest in Kaneohe which will have fireworks too.

We were in Waikiki a few years ago for the 4th. We just sat on the beach and watched a myriad of fireworks displays. Personal fireworks are legal in Hawaii so Waikiki sounded and looked like a battle zone with everyone firing off their own rockets!

Definately look at the events calendars. Usually the far side of Ala Moana Mall has had special musical extravaganzas (free) and special sale coupons for the whole store... leading up to one of the major fireworks displays across the street on beach.

There are a couple of shows out there. Ala Moana Center usually does an all day thing with promos & contests throughout the center. At about 3 PM they open up a portion of the parking lot facing the ocean so people can bring their beach chairs or mats to sit and enjoy a free concert. At 8 or 8:30, they have a huge fireworks show. You should probably get better details from either www.alamoana.com or www.gohawaii.com because they may have cut back a bit in recent years.

On the Windward side, they have a parade through Kailua and it is also a fairly huge event. They lost the funding for the fireworks though, so as of this writing the community and ClearChannel Radio are trying to raise enough money to bring the fireworks back!

Better check now if you plan to be at a hotel or restaurant to view the Ala Moana fireworks, though, as I hear places get sold out far in advance.

Correction...last night's news reported the Kailua fireworks are back on! So now you have more choices.

Don't know about 4th of July - but we were in Honolulu on Waikiki Beach for New Year's Eve - and the fireworks were beautiful. Everyone sat on the beach and the fireworks were out on the water. Fish probably weren't real thrilled - but it was pretty for us to watch.....

Fish and Pets Debi. I do recall July 4th when listening to Islandmom, you do feel like you are in a war zone. I remember this being harsher on New Years.

What I remember being exciting around the 4th are the colorful Dragon boat races. Melissa does this happen on the 4th? Remember steviehby while of course there are plenty of patriotic people living in Hawaii there are also groups that don't welcome the 4th. Hawaii was only a sovereign nation a tad over 100 years ago. I recall marches on the 4th that took place along Kalakua avenue in Waikiki. Marchers wore black arm bands and called for Hawaiian independence, a recovery of land and the like.

No, the Dragon Boat Festival is scheduled (I believe) for August this year.

To feel less like you are in the war zone, my recommendation is to enjoy the free concert in Ala Moana Center's parking lot and watch the fireworks from there. I never feel like I am in a war zone when I'm there!

We too are going to be in Oahu for July 4 - I had heard of the Military fireworks show - is it worth going to the base or just staying on the beach and watching the local fireworks?