Aug 15 – Aug 23, 2026
Los Angeles Tanabata Festival 2026 at JACCC
The 18th LA Tanabata Festival hangs kazari in front of JACCC August 15–23, 2026, through Nisei Week in Little Tokyo. Free to walk.
This event has ended
The 18th Los Angeles Tanabata Festival hangs kazari, the paper streamer decorations of Japan's star festival, in front of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center at 244 S. San Pedro St. Dates are August 15–23, 2026, inside Nisei Week. Walking up to see them is free.
Tanabata is the July 7 wish festival in Japan. Little Tokyo holds its version during Nisei Week so the plaza has a visual center while the parade, ondo, and ticketed Aratani programs fill the rest of the district. Community groups and schools enter a kazari contest. The winning pieces stay up through the week.
Think of it as the decoration you walk through, not a separate ticketed festival. Pair it with something else on the block. JANM Natsumatsuri is the free family day on August 15. The plaza festival and Grand Parade are why people stay downtown.
The streamers hang outside, so you can see them even if the JACCC lobby is closed.
If you are already in Little Tokyo for Nisei Week, walk the kazari. Spend any paid night on a Nisei Week program. There is no Tanabata ticket to hunt.
When: August 15–23, 2026
Where: JACCC plaza, 244 S. San Pedro St, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, CA
Keep exploring Southern California →
You might also like
What our readers in this scene are watching and talking about right now.
What to Watch
Scene Report: what July streaming is actually fighting for
July 2026 is an attention auction, not a catalog problem: East Palace anchors Nam Joo-hyuk's comeback, June carry titles still deserve catch-up, and Wonderfools waits on word of mouth while Cha Eun-woo is offline.
Brand Watch
Luxury brands and the Asian celebrity economy
Global luxury houses are structuring campaigns around Asian celebrities as primary global faces, not regional additions to Western-led rosters.
