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Eat Moon Cakes and Make Crafts at Mid-Autumn Moon Festival Celebration

By Lisha Arino | September 1, 2014 9:51am
 The Museum of Chinese in America will hosts its annual Mid-Autumn Moon Family Festival on Sept. 6.
Mid-Autumn Moon Family Festival at the Museum of Chinese in America
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CHINATOWN — The Museum of Chinese in America will celebrate the traditional fall harvest this weekend with sweets and activities for kids. 

The Mid-Autumn Moon Family Festival, now in its fourth year, will include a scavenger hunt, story time and arts and crafts like calligraphy and lantern-making, according to Joy Liu, the museum’s director of education.

“It’s basically a fun family day,” she said.

On Saturday, Children will hear Chinese folk stories on how the moon came to be and will get to eat moon cakes, a traditional pastry filled with red bean or lotus seed paste with a salted egg yolk to symbolize the full moon.

The museum will also serve modern versions of the treat by Godiva, which makes chocolate, fruit-filled moon cakes, as well as Häagen-Dazs, which makes moon cakes with ice cream.

Other activities include a festival-themed photo booth, where parents can take pictures of their children, and a meet-and-greet with Lenore Look, the author of the “Alvin Ho” children’s book series.

Many Chinese-American communities celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, and though it traditionally marked the harvest, it has also evolved to focus on families, Liu said.

“In Chinese culture, circles mean unity, and it means togetherness and wholeness and family,” Liu said. “So this symbol of the moon, not only does it take place in the beginning of the harvest, it brings people together.”

The Mid-Autumn Moon Family Festival will take place on Saturday, Sept. 6, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Museum of Chinese in America. Admission is $10 per person, and free for children under 2 years old and museum members at the family level. Visitors are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance.