The volunteer-led nonprofit Chinatown 808’s Annual Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, returns to the Chinatown Cultural Plaza on Saturday, September 19. Presented by Hawai’i National Bank, the event celebrates the harvest season.
“My favorite part of the Moon Festival is the food … especially moon cakes,” Leonard Kam, president of Chinatown 808 told ASD via email. “Besides food, I love having the family together to celebrate and enjoy the celebrations and most significant is having the altar that is set up for us to give thanks. It’s a tradition that I have carried with me since I was a kid.”
There will be more than 30 food or craft vendors, activities for keiki, free entertainment and even an appearance of live rabbits. Telescopes will also be on site to find the moon and other celestial objects after dark.
Chinatown 808’s Annual Mid-Autumn Festival includes a lantern-making workshop, which festival goers can join for $5. (Chinatown 808) 
Mooncakes are part of Moon Festival celebrations. (Chinatown 808) 
The festival features more than 30 food or craft vendors. (Chinatown 808) 
The festival includes food vendors and is traditionally held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar when there is a full moon. (Chinatown 808) 
The festival also includes activities for keiki and free entertainment. (Chinatown 808)
The festival is traditionally held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar when there is a full moon. Family and friends gather to admire the moon, share mooncakes and exchange wishes for good fortune.
“New this year is our lantern-making workshop,” Kam added. “It’s a hands-on way to learn the basics of lantern making. I’m excited to see all of the creative lanterns that get submitted for the contest.”
For $5, festival goers can participate in a lantern-making activity where they design their own creations for the parade or enter in a lantern-making contest. The lanterns will be judged on creativity, originality, craftsmanship and presentation. Sign up for the competition.
“There are different types of creativity when it comes to lanterns,” the president of Chinatown 808 said. “It’s great to see how creative people are when it comes to the design of the traditional one. One such lantern was made with rice paper. Just this year, we learned to use bamboo to make fish, lotus, peach, and star fruit- shaped lanterns.”
The lantern parade, where contestants can share their creations, will start at 4:45 p.m. at the Hawai’i National Bank Main Branch on North King Street and proceed up Maunakea Street towards Sun Yat-sen Mall.
The schedule of events includes:
11 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Opening Ceremonies
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Ryugen Taiko
1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Mun Lun School
3 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Peony Dance Group
4 p.m. - 5 p.m. Hawai‘i Lion Dance Association
5 p.m. - 6 p.m. Chinese Lion Dance Association
6 p.m. - 7 p.m. Sing Yung Dragon and Lion Dance Association
8 p.m. - 9 p.m. Chuk Kai Tai Chi
9 p.m. - 10 p.m. Yeung Dak Physical Culture Dragon & Lion Dance
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
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