At the end of rice harvesting season, the folks of the Kagawa and Niigata Prefectures in Japan hold a straw festival to celebrate the abundance of the harvest. Dried straws cover wooden frames to form larger-than-life sculptures from animals like sharks and gorillas to vessels such as ships and tanks. The family-friendly event invites visitors of all ages to engage, interact, and play on the enormous structures.

A performer dressed in costume prepares to participate in the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade in Sydney, Australia, March 5, 2016. The Sydney Mardi Gras parade began in 1978 as a march and commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall Riots of New York. It is an annual event promoting awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues and themes. (Photo by David Gray/Reuters)

Visitors check photos on a smartphone during the activity "Birgu by Candlelight" in the medieval city of Birgu, also known as Vittoriosa, outside Valletta, Malta, October 10, 2015. During the annual event, most street lights are switched off and the city is lit up by candlelight, creating a magical ambience, according to its local council. (Photo by Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters)

A woman receives a traditional cleansing in the church of San Simon in Iztapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, October 28, 2015. People in Guatemala revere San Simon, also known by his Mayan name Maximon o Ry Laj Man, on October 28 annually. For some devotees, San Simon is synonymous with prosperity and happiness, while others associate him with witchcraft, paganism and a protector for drunkards. Since the 19th century, devotees have offered money, liquor or tobacco in exchange for his blessings. (Photo by Jorge Dan Lopez/Reuters)

A police officer removes a reveler from standing on a post as they guard and clear the street of revelers dressed in holiday themed costumes during SantaCon in New York Saturday, December 12, 2015. As thousands of Santa-suited merrymakers prepare to hit the city's streets and bars, organizers of the annual pub crawl say they're taking more steps than ever to deter naughty behavior. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/AP Photo)

A biker poses on his Bousouzoku motorbike at the Dangouzaka rest stop in Yamanashi, west of Tokyo, Japan, January 3, 2016. Police on Sunday halted a group of about two dozen Bousouzoku bikers who paraded their noisy motorcycles during an annual New Year outing in the Mount Fuji region. This Japanese motorcycle subculture dated back to the 1950s and regularly chafes with the police because of their provocative traffic behaviour and bike customising, that is often deemed illegal. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

India's Border Security Force (BSF) “Daredevils” motorcycle riders perform during a rehearsal for the Republic Day parade on a foggy winter morning in New Delhi January 8, 2015. India will celebrate its annual Republic Day on January 26. (Photo by Ahmad Masood/Reuters)

Young people fight for fun with their pillows, during the International Pillow Fight Day at the Place des Grottes, in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday, April 4, 2015. The annual International Pillow Fight Day takes place in hundreds of cities around the world. (Photo by Salvatore Di Nolfi/AP Photo/Keystone)