The 74th Shonan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival

One of the summer highlights of the Shonan area, the festival is known for the elaborate decorations that line the streets around the station. This year the opening two days run slightly longer than before, with the closing time extended by thirty minutes.

As in the previous year, the festival is laid out across three distinct zones to make it easy for visitors to move between them: the decoration areas along Shonan Star Mall and Beniya Pearl Road, the event areas at Mitsukedai Park and the Hirashin Hiratsuka Culture and Arts Hall, and the street-stall area. Around 100 large decorations are expected along the shopping streets near the station, with about 80 along Shonan Star Mall (26 of them made by residents) and 17 along Beniya Pearl Road. Seventeen children's decorations will go up earlier, from Saturday 13 June, at Beniyacho Machikado Plaza.

A recurring feature is the Tanabata Dance Thousand-Person Parade, held on the opening day along Shonan Star Mall. The festival also includes its decoration contests, with judging for the central-district category on 3 July and the district category on 2 July; the awards ceremony takes place at 4:00 pm on 5 July at the Hirashin Hiratsuka Culture and Arts Hall. Other events across the three days include the opening ceremony, a residents' stage at the hall, event booths at Mitsukedai Park, and visits around the city by the festival's "Orihime" representatives.