The Festima Mask Festival is the largest cultural event in West Africa dedicated to preserving and celebrating the culture of the traditional African mask. Its most famous attraction is the performance of hundreds of diverse traditional masks (made of materials like leaves, wood, and textile) from various ethnic groups across West African nations. During the festival, mask wearers perform energetic, ritualistic dances set to traditional music, which symbolize the communication with ancestors and spirits.

The Onbashira Matsuri – Log Riding Festival is an ancient, extremely high-risk Japanese Shinto event held every six years to spiritually renew the Suwa Taisha shrines by installing new sacred pillars. Its fame comes from the breathtaking spectacle of the Ki-otoshi (riding colossal logs down treacherously steep slopes) and the final Tate-onbashira (erecting the massive pillars to serve as new anchors for the deity’s spirit).