The days are getting shorter and mornings are getting chillier, meaning harvest season and the annual Mid-Autumn Festival are coming to Richmond.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, important in Chinese culture, is a celebration of family, unity and the harvest. Richmond has plenty going on to mark this special time of year.
The Richmond Chinese Community Society is hosting their annual Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration at Lansdowne Centre beginning at 12:30 p.m. The event will feature lion and dragon dances, folk dance performances, calligraphy demonstrations and a singing performance by Alisha Wong.
The first 600 attendees will also receive a free mooncake.
Several prominent Richmond politicians are expected to attend, including Mayor Malcolm Brodie, MP Joe Peschisolido, MP Alice Wong and MLAs Jas Johal, Teresa Wat and Linda Reid.
Later in the afternoon, the City Centre Community Association is hosting their fourth annual Harvest Moon Celebration starting at 5:30 p.m. It will begin at City Centre Community Centre, where guests can enjoy live music, lantern art stations, mooncakes and purchase tea by donation.
Then, the celebration will move to Minoru Park where members of the Vancouver Chinese Lion Dance Association will lead guests in a lantern procession around the lagoon. Afterwards, there will be a lion dance ceremony.
On Saturday evening, there will also be a piano concert by Martin Mayer, who will be playing original songs as well as Chinese classics. Tickets for the concert cost between $10 and $20.
This month’s full harvest moon will be visible on Monday night, Sept. 24. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, when the moon is at its fullest.
