After a two-year hiatus due to pandemic restrictions, Canberra Moon Festival returns to the city centre this month. City Walk and Garema Place will come to life with multicultural festivities and delicacies for three days, from 9 to 11 September.
Traditionally, the mid-autumn festival is when ancient Chinese emperors would pray for the harvest, fine weather, and peace for the country. Now the festival honours harvest and reunion in many east and southeast Asian countries.
Suzana Li, founder of Fun Canberra Committee which has been organising the festival since 2016, says she wanted to share the festivities with her second home, Canberra. Under the banner of ‘One Community, One World, One Big Family’, Li hopes to bring all members of the local community together. She says even though we all come from different cultures and countries, we are part of the same world.
“I realised for the 15 years I lived in Canberra I never saw a large festival with a Chinese-originated cultural background. I felt good culture can be inherited and passed on, not just limited to one particular group,” she says.
Li believes the pandemic has changed how many people view the world and they are hoping to bring people back together at this event. The festival provides a platform for people wanting to express their culture the opportunity to celebrate as one big family.
“For me, personally, it is important for every member of the community and world to work together. Resources are limited, we should not waste the resource to turn against each other but get together as one to support each other. I think many people will grow on this idea, “Li says.
The three days of the festival offer entertainment for everyone. Stage performances showcase a diverse range of cultures with folk dancing, live music, kung fu, and art demonstrations. All appetites are catered for with some of the ACT’s favourite food stalls offering gourmet baos, Chinese pancakes, crepes, and more.
Get hands-on with moon cake or lantern making, sugar candy drawing, arrow throwing, and a jumping castle, while Sunday will host the festival’s first cooking show and competition. A celebrity chef shows off their skills and offers free tasting; seats are limited and registration for the free experience is recommended. Then CIT students take over to conduct a cooking competition on stage.
Canberra Moon Festival takes over City Walk and Garema Place on 9-11 September; canberramoonfestival.com.au
