Niigata Festival is held in Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture on the 1st Friday to Sunday in August every year. The festival was first held in 1955 as the integration of the four traditional festivals; Sumiyoshi Festival, Kawa-biraki, the Shoko Festival and the Kaiko-kinen Festival.

Sumiyoshi Festival originates in the procession of the deity transformed from Sumiyoshi Shrine in Osaka to this town by a kaisen-donya (a cargo boat owner and distributor) to pray for navigation safety in 1726.

The Kawa-biraki (River Opening) originates in the fireworks display held in 1910 on the riverbank down from the Bandai Bridge over the Shinano River in hope for the reconstruction of the city, which had been destroyed by a big fire.

The Shoko (Commerce and Industry) Festival was first held in the fall of 1929, when the advertisement parade was performed in order to promote the commercial business of the city.

The Kaiko-kinen (Harbor Opening Anniversary) Festival was first held in 1930 as the 60th anniversary of the construction of Niigata Harbor. The exhibition of the documents concerning the harbor and the local product fair were held at that time.

Today elements of the four festivals are finely integrated into a large citizen festival. The highlight is the Grand Folk Song Dance Parade, in which 30,000 dancers in teams wearing matching yukata dance around the city. It is said to be Japan’s biggest folk song dance parade.