Date and time: Sept 14th, 2013, 11am-4pm
Location: Tenderloin Children’s Playground. 570 Ellis Street San Francisco, CA 94109
(More details on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/374579819336897/)
Event details: This traditional holiday in Southeast Asia consists of three fundamental definitions: - Thanksgiving: Give thanks and accept the year’s bountiful harvest. - Gathering: Friends and family come together, a time of peace - Praying: Many ask for material or abstract goods such as longevity, healthy family, beauty, a good job, etc.
This holiday also has a huge emphasis on children. Because the summer’s harvest consisted of long hours of labor in the rice fields, it was thought that the festival helped many parents spend more time with their children and loved ones. In terms of food served at the festival, mooncakes have a cultural significance during this holiday. In ancient folklore, many believe that mooncakes were used to conceal secret messages during wartime. Mooncakes have a distinct flavor, and is made up of mainly egg yolk, lotus seeds, and ground beans.
The event will have a wide range of activities and performances from different arts and cultural groups across the San Francisco bay area. There will be many ways for kids and adults to have fun and learn more about various Southeast Asian cultures through media and interactive social activities. People will also be able to try a spectrum of food and drinks from different ethnic backgrounds.
In Southeast Asia, each country celebrates this holiday in their own unique way, and at different times of the year. SEAACC acknowledges that, and chooses to celebrate it all in one day as a symbol of the unification between Southeast Asian cultures.
The 3rd Annual Mid-Autumn Harvest Festival is supported by the SOMArts Cultural Center’s Technical Services Program, which provides subsidized rental rates for wheelchair-accessible lifts, staging, catwalks, bleachers, P.A. systems and consultation for San Francisco’s many street fairs, festivals and community events. SOMArts receives support from the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Community Arts and Education Program with funding from Grants for the Arts/The Hotel Tax Fund.
The mission of SOMArts is to promote and nurture art on the community level and foster an appreciation of and respect for all cultures. To find out about SOMArts classes, events and exhibitions, please visit www.somarts.org.
