The Chichibu Yomatsuri Festival (Night Festival) is held every year on December 2-3. Chichibu Yatai-bayashi is the musical accompaniment played by performers seated on the lower levels of the floats dragged in the festival. The beats of the shime-daiko as well as larger drums almost seem to control the floats themselves at will. Packed inside a space as small as the bottom of a ship, the energetic playing of the performers serves a vital role in encouraging and aligning the breathing of the people who pull the massive yatai, which weigh as much as twenty tons.