The Sunrise Festival, or SunFes for short, is a fictional festival in the spring season based on real-life marching band festivals in Japan in which school bands from the local prefecture gather to perform in a series of marching band performances for the general public. Although the festival is not strictly a competition, it is still very important for schools to perform well, as it can establish the public's impression of each school's musical caliber.
For the Sunrise Festival and similar outdoor parade events, school bands will perform pieces that are less complex than what they would select for an indoors band competition, but easier to march to and more popular, so as to cater to their audience.
Kitauji's concert band performing in the Sunrise Festival
Common choices of music include military marches, circus marches, or covers of popular songs (such as YMO's Rydeen, as Kitauji performed).
As seen in the anime, schools in attendance include Kitauji High School and Rikka High School.
