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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, August 24, 2007

Hawaii Kai residents hoping to put on 4th of July fireworks

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

A small group of residents want to launch a fireworks display over Maunalua Bay next year that would rival the shows at Magic Island and Kailua.

For six years, it's been Paige Altonn's dream to have Fourth of July fireworks in her own community. Now, with the support of a newly formed Hawai'i Kai Chamber of Commerce, the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board, a few community groups and several area businesses, she's hoping to launch a fireworks display off Maunalua Bay by July 4, 2008. The big unknown is if Altonn and others can raise enough money to cover the costs of putting on a fireworks show.

"People won't have to drive," Altonn said. "People won't have to hassle with parking or walking through a neighborhood like at Kailua. I think it's a natural for Hawai'i Kai."

Already the group, spearheaded by Altonn and Cha Thompson of Tihati Productions has received financial commitments from 10 merchants, said Thompson, who has lived in Hawai'i Kai for 33 years.

"Hawai'i Kai is a flourishing, thriving community, but it's not personable," Thompson said. "I think it will be a great day, but we know we have a long way to go."

A side benefit, Altonn said, is the feeling of community that the fireworks will bring to Hawai'i Kai. With a thousand new homes built over the past five years and several hundred more in the pipeline, Altonn feels the community needs to be drawn together.

"We have no trust anymore," Altonn said. "We've built up so much that we've built up walls and therefore we're not a community anymore. My goal is to bring the community together."

Fireworks shows can cost as much as $50,000, said Tonic Bille, a member of the Chamber of Commerce in Kailua, which previously had sponsored its annual fireworks display.

The chamber no longer pays for the July Fourth fireworks off Flat Island; Clear Channel Broadcasting does.

"It was a money issue," Bille said. "A company stepped in and said they'd take care of the fireworks."

Roger Izuka, president of the Koko Head Lions Club, is ready to bring in the manpower to help Altonn with putting on the event. The club can't afford to sponsor the fireworks display but could help with parking and shuttle services.

"I think it's doable," Izuka said. "We're behind it, but we don't have the money to help fund it."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.