Wonderful school festival / cultural festival

[By Genre] Cultural Festival / School Festival Booth Catalog [2026]

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
Editor-in-Chief, RAG MUSICHane Keisuke
Editor-in-chief of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. After working in a music studio and handling wedding sound, joined the RAG MUSIC editorial team in 2016. Experienced with a variety of instruments: marching band in elementary school, clarinet in junior high school wind ensemble, and drums in a band from high school onward. Drawing on my own musical activities and the experience gained through my work, I produce daily articles, including various song introductions, features on music festivals around the country, and live reports. In music, I enjoy not only rock from Japan and abroad but, lately, a wide range of J-pop as well.

Food stalls, class exhibits, and stage events are essential for cultural and school festivals, but once preparations start, it’s easy to get stuck on what to do! You definitely want to avoid choosing a standard attraction that ends up overlapping with other classes, and ideally, you want something that visitors will enjoy and that will become a lasting memory for your group—but once you start thinking about it, the possibilities seem endless.

In this article, we’ll introduce recommended ideas for cultural festival attractions, organized by genre.

If you already have a general direction, try jumping to the headings that interest you from the table of contents.

If you haven’t decided anything yet, we recommend going through the ideas listed at the top of each section in order—you’ll likely find them helpful!

Recreation (1–10)

reading aloud

2015 NHK Broadcasting Contest, Reading Division, Semifinals

reading aloud

It’s a recreational activity where you read a book aloud in a classroom or gym and present it to everyone.

You can read by yourself, or split the lines among a few people! It’s not limited to books—reading manga, poetry collections, or anything else you’d like can be fun too!

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Knitting Experience

[For absolute beginners] I’ve explained two basic crochet stitches using a hook.

Knitting Experience

Crochet is a knitting technique that uses a tool called a crochet hook.

With crochet, you can make a wide variety of items, from wearable pieces like scarves and hats to small projects like coasters and amigurumi.

Once you master the basic stitches, you’ll be able to start creating projects.

Let’s teach participants the basic stitches, and if time allows, try making a project together.

If time is limited, you could sell crochet hooks and yarn and have them continue at home.

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Photo Spots (11–20)

Let's take photogenic pictures and have them post on social media!

These days, stylish photo spots can be found just about everywhere—tourist destinations, theme parks, cafes, and more! Many people probably snap a picture as soon as they find a photo spot and post it on social media. So why not create a photo spot that will be the talk of your school festival? We’ve gathered ideas ranging from ones you often see around town to more unique concepts, so please use them for inspiration! Related articles:Recommended photo spots for the school festival. Create a photogenic space.

Photo spots (1–10)

Angel Wings

Speaking of classic photo spots, you can’t skip angel wings! It’s a popular photo spot you often see at tourist destinations or stylish places around town, where you take a picture in front of angel wings painted on a wall.

With some creativity in your poses and handheld props, you can capture chic, fashionable shots or cute ones.

If you’re making an angel wings photo spot for a school festival, try using a blackboard and draw big wings! Paying attention to the colors and the shape of the wings will make it an even more wonderful photo spot.

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shell objet d’art

When you look at photos from school festivals on social media, you often see shell-shaped photo spots.

Pictures where you sit inside a shell as if you were a mermaid have a whimsical, fairy-tale vibe and are really cute! For the shell prop, you can use a popular shell-shaped float like the ones you see at night pools, or you could get creative and make one yourselves.

Decorating the background with cellophane tape streamers or colorful balloons can enhance the fairy-tale atmosphere even more.

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American retro

@ma0__luv
Cow girls🇺🇸🐴❤️#06 #jk #ljk #JK brand Chiba Cultural Festival #Cowgirl Recommendation Like #fyp American
♬ Mr. Lil One – Mr. Lil One

Cowgirl outfits really pop! Here are some American retro ideas.

What comes to mind when you hear “American retro”? Generally, American retro refers to the retro designs that were popular in the U.S.

from the 1950s to the 1970s.

This time, try using posters featuring movies, characters, or brand logos and put them up on the wall.

You can also create a special feel by using number balloons.

Setting this up near an American-style café or a hot dog stand is sure to be a hit!

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BeReal-style frame

A familiar social media platform for high schoolers! Here are some ideas for frames inspired by BeReal.

Speaking of BeReal, it’s a social media app where you can share your everyday life just as it is with friends and close classmates.

Many of the people coming to the school festival might be using it too, right? Unique ideas are more likely to get shared on Instagram, so you can probably expect an increase in visitors as well.

Let’s make trendy BeReal-style frames and capture memories in photos!

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Moon objet

Creating a moon-shaped prop and taking photos while sitting on it is also very popular as a photo spot at school festivals.

It gives a fairytale-like impression and can create a retro-cute atmosphere.

To make it, cut cardboard to the shape of the moon you want and build a base, then cover it with tissue paper.

Make it free-standing, place a chair or desk right where people will sit, and you’re done! Adding lighting decorations like LEDs will enhance the mood even more.

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