Japanese culture meets Southern hospitality when the Daikin Festival returns–May 1, 2026 at Point Mallard Park.
This year’s festival will feature many of the things you’ve come to love about this FREE family event–plus some new surprises.
The gates open at 6:30 and the festival runs until 9pm.
There is plenty of seating throughout the festival site. The Daikin Festival is a rain or shine event and cannot be rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.
IT’S ALL FREE
At Daikin Festival 2026 your admission, food, drink, and parking are all FREE. The first 2,500 guests will also receive a FREE HAPPI COAT (see below for details).
It’s our way of showing our appreciation for the wonderful community we call home.
LINEUP
Daikin’s own Taiko Force drummers will get the party started and play periodically throughout the festival.
Festival favorites Natchez Trace are back for Daikin Festival 2026.
They’ve shared a stage with the likes of Randy Travis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. You can catch their tight classic rock in four-part harmony at this year’s Daikin Festival FREE of charge.
Joining them will be the Calhoun Community College Show Band, recently featured in Downbeat Magazine. Under the direction of Grammy-nominated Dr. Matt Leder, the band delivers R&B, funk, jazz, New Orleans brass, country, and soul music.
And, of course, Daikin’s own Taiko Force Drum Team will be on hand to get you in the rhythm and spirit of Decatur’s family-friendly festival.
Acrobats, jugglers, plate spinners and a magician will be roaming the festival grounds eager to entertain you. And the night wraps up with fireworks by PYRO Shows.
FOOD & DRINKS
It wouldn’t be the Daikin Festival without your favorite American and Japanese fare. This year’s menu includes chicken fingers, pizza, jambalaya, plus yakisoba and yakitori. We will even have ice cream mochi. And a new addition–roast corn!
The cost? Absolutely nothing. It’s all FREE, as always, while supplies last.
LEARN ABOUT JAPANESE CULTURE
Here are some of the ways you can learn about Japanese culture at the festival:
Shodo (書道, “the way of writing”) is the Japanese art of calligraphy. It arrived from China alongside kanji, ink, and brushwork, and over centuries evolved into a distinctly Japanese discipline with its own aesthetic values.
Practitioners use a fude (brush), sumi (ink), suzuri (inkstone), and washi (paper) — collectively called the “four treasures.” Shodo is not simply handwriting; it’s a meditative, bodily practice where the calligrapher’s breath, posture, and state of mind are considered inseparable from the stroke.
Styles range from the rigid precision of kaisho (block script) to the fluid, abstract expressiveness of sōsho(cursive). Shodo is still taught in Japanese schools, and serious practitioners train for decades to master the balance of discipline and spontaneity that defines a great piece.
Amezaiku (飴細工, “candy craftsmanship”) is the Japanese folk art of sculpting heated, taffy-like candy — specifically mizuame, a translucent starch syrup — into intricate shapes, usually animals and insects.
The craft originated in China and has been practiced in Japan for over a thousand years. During the Heian period, amezaiku candy was used as temple offerings in Kyoto, and the art spread beyond the temples during the Edo period when street performance flourished and mizuame became widely available.
The amezaiku artist must work fast — the candy hardens in minutes — using traditional scissors, bare hands, and tweezers to pull, snip, and shape the molten candy, then paints it with edible dyes. It’s equal parts craftsmanship and live performance. Today it is an extremely rare art, with only a handful of practitioners left in the world.
We are pleased to announce that Shinobu “Shan” Ichiyanagi (一柳 忍, born 1952 in Sapporo, Hokkaido) will be demonstrating his incredible craftsmanship in the art of amezaiku at Daikin Festival 2026.
Shinobu “Shan” Ichiyanagi is one of the few amezaiku masters in the world. Known as “The Candyman,” he is based in Los Angeles, where he has spent over three decades performing amezaiku at private events, corporate functions, and cultural festivals across the United States and internationally.
He came to L.A. in 1971 after high school to study business, and along the way became a serious martial artist — he holds black belts in three styles: Shorinji Kempo, Shotokan Karate, and Shinkendo.
While attending adult school, he met amezaiku master Masagi Terasawa, a fellow Japanese expatriate, who accepted him as a personal student for a three-year apprenticeship from 1973 to 1976.
Read more about Shan by clicking here.
BONSAI EXHIBIT
This year, the Daikin Festival will include an exhibition of Bonsai trees, courtesy of the Living Arts Bonsai Society.
You can see amazing examples of the ancient art of Bonsai, created by experienced artists and learn more about this fascinating hobby.
FESTIVAL DO’S AND DON’TS
DO’S
DO explore the complete festival, including Japanese cultural activities, children’s activities, and all the food, drinks, and entertainment. Children’s activities include games, inflatables, prizes, and temporary tattoos.
DO be sure to catch Natchez Trace and the Calhoun Community College Show Band and, of course, our own Taiko Force drum team, performing at intervals throughout the event.
DO stay for the fireworks show by PYRO SHOWS, to end the festival experience.
DON’TS
PLEASE do not bring purses, bags, or backpacks onto the festival grounds. No pets or drones allowed.
FREE HAPPI COAT TO FIRST 2,500 GUESTS
The happi (法被 or 半被) is a straight-cut, wide-sleeved Japanese overcoat, usually hip-length, made of cotton, and tied with a sash. It’s one of the most recognizable garments in Japanese festival culture, but its origins are functional, not festive.
Origins and Edo-period history. The happi emerged during the Edo period (1603–1868) as a result of the gradual relaxation of social restrictions regarding marks of rank. It evolved from — and is often confused with — the haori, a jacket historically reserved for the samurai class.
Firefighters. One of the most notable early uses was by Edo-era firefighters, who wore happi coats bearing their brigade’s symbol. Their coats had plain, utilitarian exteriors for quick identification at a fire scene.
But if the firefighters successfully extinguished a blaze, they would turn their coats inside out to reveal colorful designs and parade triumphantly through the streets. These reversible coats were distinct from the heavier, quilted hikeshi banten, which were designed to be soaked in water for actual fire protection.
Women and broader adoption. Originally exclusive to men, happi coats were adopted by women during the Edo period as Japan’s economy and artistic culture flourished. Women wore them as a protective jacket over the kimono to guard against the elements.
Modern use. Today the happi is most strongly associated with matsuri — Japanese festivals — where it’s worn by participants carrying mikoshi (portable shrines), by taiko drummers (often in sleeveless versions), and by yosakoi dancers in longer variations.
Many social groups and religious organizations still wear happi coats marked with their group’s logo to identify their membership. Corporate versions are common at trade fairs and promotional events.
So, come early to Daikin Festival 2026 on Friday, May 1 and get your FREE HAPPI COAT.
Gates open at 6:30.
This year’s festival will feature many of the things you’ve come to love about this FREE family event–plus some new surprises we will be announcing as the date nears.
The gates open at 6:30 and the festival runs until 9pm.
Daikin’s own Taiko Force drummers will get the party started and play periodically throughout the festival evening.
Expect some of your favorite American and Japanese food (details to follow soon), plus music, kids activities, and a hands-on learning experience in which you can learn the art of Japanese calligraphy known as Shodo.
The entire festival, including food and drink, is FREE compliments of Daikin. So, mark your calendar today and join us on Friday evening, May 1, 2026.
