This Weekend: Autumn Moon Festival Rolls Through Chinatown

Hanna Quevedo

Lion dancers, street food ― and plenty of yin.

​Tomorrow promises to kick off a very entertaining weekend in Chinatown ― it's the 20th Annual Autumn Moon Festival, with nonstop entertainment from lion dancers, acrobats, Polynesian dancers, performances by local dance-school groups, martial artists, plus over 200 arts and crafts booths and street-food vendors.

Autumn Moon is one of the few Chinese festivals celebrated all over the world, second only to traditional Chinese New Year. The legends involving the Moon Goddess, who lives on the moon and visits Earth once a year, are numerous. It's the time when farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season, a time for family reunions and gathering with friends to celebrate the harvest bounty and admire the mid-autumn harvest moon, a symbol of fertility ― yin, in contrast to the sun's yang.

20th Annual Autumn Moon Festival
When: Sat.-Sun., Sept. 18-19, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Where: Grant, between California and Columbus
Cost: Free