The Carnegie Museum of Kings County, in partnership with the China Alley Preservation Society, is presenting a tribute to the Moon Festival on Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Carnegie Museum. The Moon Festival, with its lanterns, dancers, drummers and mooncakes, is an occasion of sthanksgiving for the harvest, feasting, and visiting with friends.
The event will be next to the Carnegie Museum, 109 E. 8th Street, in downtown Hanford from noon to 5 p.m.
The Oct. 4 event is free to the public and will feature performances throughout the afternoon by the Cal Poly Lion Dancers and the Fresno Gumyo Taiko. The lion dancers have been the main attraction at Moon Festival celebrations for more than four decades. Raymond Thomas, will be giving lessons on the Japanese art of paper folding. The Hanford High School Salad Bowl Club will be painting Hennah tattoos. Other vendors and food trucks will enhance the event experience.
“For me, the Moon Festival has always been a lantern of light. For decades families gathered in China Alley to taste mooncakes and to watch lion dancers and Gumyo Taiko. It’s important not only because it celebrates Chinese tradition, but has become a celebration for the entire Hanford community. It’s a way of saying; this history belongs to all of us. The Festival’s return after the 2021 Taoist Temple arson feels like a phoenix rising, proof that our heritage, like the moon itself, may be obscured at times, but always shines again. I’m grateful for the Carnegie Museum’s help in making that happen” says Arianne Wing, President of the China Alley Preservation Society.
“Kids love interacting with the lion dancers and the lions are so gentle with them,” said Steve Banister, China Alley Preservation Society board member.
“The Carnegie Museum of Kings County is once again honored to collaborate with the China Alley Preservation Society for their Annual Moon Festival. The 2024 event brought out hundreds of people from the community to celebrate this was part of our shared history” said Carnegie Museum board President Rob Bentley.
The museum will be open during the event. The current exhibition at the museum is the second installment of A History of Kings County Agriculture. Admission to the museum is $5 for adults and $2 for children under 12. There is a maximum entry fee of $10 for families.