This year's Tanabata Festival will take place on Friday 27 July, Saturday 28 July and Sunday 29 July. The festivities will kick off at 1PM and run until 9PM each day. The road outside the main gate from the first to the second traffic light as well as the main shopping street from the gate intersection up to the third light will be closed to vehicular traffic.
Note: Tanabata is traditionally designated to be on 7 July. However Misawa celebrates it on the last weekend in July.
Also, the Main gate will be open for inbound traffic only. Use the POL Gate for all outbound traffic during these times:
- 27 Jul - 11am til 9:30pm.
- 28 Jul - 1PM til 9:30pm.
- 29 Jul - 1PM til 10PM.
The local merchants will arc bamboo poles across the street and hang colorful (sometimes lighted) decorations of paper and paper mache from the poles. Food and drink and games of chance will be offered along both streets. The off base parking lot just outside the main gate is where the stage will be located and will host the special events. The drive thru that runs parallel to the road will also be full of vendor's booths.
Parking will be limited. There will be no parking off-base in the vicinity of the main gate. If you can walk or ride a bicycle, please do so.