The Nikko Chiku Great Get Together

The Nikko Chiku Great Get Together {sunshine district}, fair and exposition occurs the last two weeks of August every year in Harmony Meadows (five hundred acre nature preserve with permanent fairgrounds, and campgrounds - please remember to pay your respects at the Hahanarudaichi to chichinaruten sora jinja {mother earth and father sky shrine}) just outside Hilo (about an hour and a half west by train). It attracts more than one million visitors each year and celebrates the agriculture, craft, and industry of the chiku. It is the largest and oldest agricultural and industrial exposition on the planet. A salute to the best in agriculture, industry, entertainment, and achievement of the chiku. National media frequently ranks the event as one of the top events globally and is always a top ten choice for summer fun. The Great Get Together opens with the Starlit Illumination Parade the evening before the fairgrounds open, that ends at the Grandstand with a fireworks show and a welcome ceremony, with the Illumination Sensation Parade running every night thereafter through the fairgrounds. Every night also features a unique fireworks display done by a different company at different venues (vote for you favorite on the Great Get Together App). Agricultural contests are held for largest and best in breed for swine, sheep, goats, cattle, rabbits, horses, dogs, and llamas. There are also a wide selection of races, contests, and hobby exhibitions (e.g. rooster crowing, calligraphy, pie eating, ugly lamps, the boom lab, open karaoke, wheelbarrow races, the moo - la - la mud run, kite flying and fighting, arm wrestling, wood chopping, flower arrangements, redneck relay, cheese carving, best produce, best flowers, lego challenges, robot challenges, tractors pulls, best quilt etc.). There are more than nine hundred classes of food and beverages judged, the Avenue of Breeds will hold more than three hundred representatives, and there will be more than five hundred exhibitors and concessions that include food (from cotton candy to takoyaki) with over seventy varieties on a stick, merchandise (from t-shirts to tools), craft exhibits, demonstrations, and classes (from smithing to brewing), and vendors (from farm machinery to hot tubs). The Fiddle & Drum holds musicians, craftspeople, and luthiers who craft, play, and repair instruments from fine violins to washboards, with daily demonstrations of their arts. Thrillville offers the newest, fastest, most jaw dropping and hair raising adventure and thrill rides to be found on the planet, along with arcades, midway games, and street entertainers. The Grandstand will host a big name artist every evening and this year includes the bestselling acts Blue, Big Bang, H.O.T., Shinwa, Trick Pony, Shooters, Yasuno Mitsuda, Twice, Got 7, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Emma Shah, Baby Metal, Zayn Malik, and Darren Cross. The three free stages and the Fair Coliseum will host concerts, theater, debates, athletic and martial exhibitions and competitions, urban and celtic step contests, beauty pageants, and other events daily. There are puppet shows, storytimes, strolling minstrels, and comedians performing on the fairgrounds daily. There will be bullfighting, a rodeo, horse races, pig races, and competitive hoedowns. The Fair Coliseum will host the Nikko Cup, a hotly contested invitational association football tournament of high school and college clubs from around the world. There are several trade shows on the fairgrounds for livestock, scientific advances, fashion, agricultural machinery and equipment, hearth and home goods, aircraft and automobiles. The Industrial Expo showcases the most competitive technology and processes used in the chiku and will represent over two hundred organizations from diverse industrial sectors (defense, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electrical, packaging, biotechnology, textiles, machine tools, glass, engineering, process equipment) demonstrating their capabilities in the fields of design, engineering, equipment, supply, and support. There are always a wide variety of interactive and educational exhibits from around the chiku and the world at large. Join us as we strive to celebrate Nikko through amazing events, hands on experiences, and educational opportunities.