The 24th annual Honolulu Festival is officially a celebration of Asian-Pacific cultures, but for many of the regulars in attendance, it’s all about the fireworks at the conclusion on Sunday.

The isle show is impressive, but it’s just a reflection of the pyrotechnic display in Nagaoka, a Honolulu sister city. One of Japan’s biggest fireworks exhibitions, it’s held yearly on the banks of the river Shinano.

If you can’t get to Nagaoka, the city’s festival booth here offers a glimpse of it through a virtual-reality device. But don’t miss the real thing, Hawaii style, above Waikiki.

Hawaiian Air gets new president, new planes

Everything’s looking like new at Hawaiian Airlines.

First, its new president, Peter Ingram, took the reins of the state’s largest carrier last week from the retired Mark Dunkerley. Second, Ingram announced the purchase of 10 new planes for its long-haul service — Boeing 787 Dreamliners instead of planes from Airbus.

After 15 years of watching Dunkerley and Hawaiian expand the airline’s reach to the mainland and beyond, it will be interesting to see how the new pilot flies with those new planes. Let’s hope the ride is smooth.