A parade and a festival. It's a multi-day party, for much of the time they close the main streets for cars. At night there are food stalls and performances (traditional dance/drama/music/geishas) and during the day there is a parade of giant floats on wheels called "yama" and "hoko". Gion is the famous geisha district of Kyoto however much of the festival takes place more in the center of the city.
