Photo courtesy of Victor Fong
Residents gathered in the South Pasadena Public Library community room for the annual Moon Festival despite the downcast weather Saturday, Oct 13. This event, hosted by the South Pasadena Chinese-American Club (SPPC), highlighted Chinese traditions such as folk dancing and festival foods.
The celebrations included an opera face-changing performance and a martial arts demonstration as well as a traditional Chinese folk dance. A chef taught the crowd how to make dragon whisker candy and the SPCC Chinese language classes from Marengo and Monterey Hills elementary schools sang traditional Chinese songs for the audience. Mooncakes, the customary food of the festival, were also sold.
The Moon Festival is one of the most celebrated events in China, occurring on the fifteenth day of the eighth month on the lunar calendar in correspondence with the full moon. The festival celebrates gathering with family and friends as well as giving thanks for the autumn harvest.
The SPCC student club was present as well, selling snacks to raise funds for the SPHS Chinese department’s trip to China in the spring.
“Everything went well and we raised a lot of money for our China trip,” vice president Ines Yang said. “We had to rearrange the schedule in the morning since everything had to be moved inside because of the weather, but it turned out to be very successful despite all that.”
