Your Insider Guide to the Mid-Autumn Festival
Celebrate the harvest season at this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinatown on Saturday, Oct. 4.
Photo: Courtesy of Chinatown 808
Get ready to light up the night! The Mid-Autumn Festival and Parade presented by Hawai‘i National Bank Foundation is back on Saturday, Oct. 4, with a full day of culture, entertainment and moonlit magic. You can look forward to lion dances, martial arts demonstrations, traditional dishes, craft vendors, keiki activities and stargazing. This year, there will be a new lantern-making contest and an expanded lantern parade route through Chinatown.
Often referred to as the Moon Festival, this Chinese holiday celebrates the conclusion of the fall harvest on the 15th day of the 8th lunar calendar month, corresponding with the full moon—this year, on Monday, Oct. 6. Loved ones usually come together to enjoy the moonlight, eat mooncakes and exchange well-wishes and greetings for good fortune.
The event is organized by Chinatown 808, a local nonprofit known for its lunar new year festival and dragon boat races. The organization aims to uplift Chinatown’s businesses and residents while breathing new life into the historic area through community programs.
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Photo: Courtesy of Chinatown 808
When and Where
The Mid-Autumn Festival will take place on Saturday, Oct. 4, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza, 100 N. Beretania St.
How Much It Costs
Admission is free. Most vendors will accept both cash and credit card payments.
Where to Park
Parking is available in the Chinatown Cultural Plaza parking lot (100 N. Beretania St., entrance on Maunakea Street) for $2 for the first hour and $2 for each additional 30 minutes. Or pay the $5 evening flat rate if you enter after 6 p.m. There are additional municipal lots nearby as well as street parking.
Photo: Andrea Lee
What to Do
The lantern parade is the highlight of the day’s festivities. You’re invited to dress up in Chinese cultural costumes and bring your own homemade lantern to carry as you march. The procession will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Hawai‘i National Bank main branch and continue up Maunakea Street towards Sun Yat-sen Mall. Sign up to participate.
Challenge your creativity in the lantern-making contest, a new activity at this year’s festival. Submissions will be accepted from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., and winners will be announced at 4:45 p.m. Register for the junior or open divisions for a chance to win a cash prize. Afterwards, participants are encouraged to show off their lanterns in the parade.
Photo: Courtesy of Chinatown 808
Families will stay entertained with a riddle activity, word search, coloring sheets and a meet-and-greet with real bunnies. Once night falls, get a closer look at the full moon with help from Stargazers of Hawai‘i, who will set up a telescope on the second floor of the Chinatown Cultural Plaza from 6:15 to 10 p.m. You can also watch a packed schedule of live entertainment on the Moon Gate Stage with several dance troupes, martial arts groups and lion dances throughout the day and night.
Photo: Courtesy of Chinatown 808
What to See
11 a.m. Festival Blessing and Hsing Chung Lion & Dragon Dance Team
Noon Highlands Middle School Drama Club
12:30 p.m. Miss Chinatown Hawai‘i
1 p.m. Halla Huhm Korean Dance Studio
1:30 p.m. Mun Lun School
2 p.m. Lantern Making Demonstration
3 p.m. Sing Yung Dragon & Lion Dance
4 p.m. Royal Hawaiian Band
4:45 p.m. Lantern-Making Contest Winner Announcement
5 p.m. Peony Dance Group
6 p.m. Gee Yung Chinese Martial Arts Dragon & Lion Dance Sports Association
6:15 p.m. Stargazing begins on the 2nd floor
6:30 p.m. Lantern Parade
7 p.m. Hawai‘i Lion Dance Association
8 p.m. Chinese Lion Dance Association
9 p.m. Yeung Dak Physical Cultural Association
Note: Times are subject to change.
Photo: Courtesy of Chinatown 808
What to Eat & Buy
Don’t leave the festival without snacking on a traditional mooncake, a golden-brown, round pastry stuffed with a sweet or savory filling (available at Legend Seafood Restaurant). A selection of popular Chinese dishes will also be available for purchase. Plus, enjoy a variety of foods from local vendors, including potstickers, poke bowls, bubble tea and teppanyaki. You can also shop local crafts and cultural gifts.
Here’s a list of who will be there:
- Bing Bros. / Yomie’s Drink
- Blue Truck Teppanyaki
- Chillex Pops
- Fryer Em Up
- Guian
- Hawai‘i QQ Market
- Hawaiian Cane Juice
- Hawaiian Honey Cones
- Honolulu Kapahulu Mō‘ili‘ili Lions Club
- Hott Potstickers
- Jr’s Jamaican Jerk
- Judy Shop
- LaoWaiian Style Creations
- Legend Seafood Restaurant
- Local Poke Bowl
- Meme’s Craft
- Oh’s Kitchen
- Olay’s Thai Lao Express
- She-Rocks
- Sugah Daddeh’s Kane Juice
- Ta⋅Ma⋅Da⋅ Sweets
- Teapresso Bar
- Thai Lao Restaurant
- The OldTaku
- Treasures by Lokomai
- United Chinese Society of Hawai‘i
- Yu Zhen Zhong / Carrie Say
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Tips
- Make your own lantern to show off during the parade. Here’s a tutorial using supplies you probably already have at home.
- It’s optional, but you’re encouraged to dress up in Chinese cultural costumes.
- The Mid-Autumn Festival is all about spending time together as a family, so make sure to capture the moment by snapping a picture in the photo booth.
- While you’re in Chinatown, check out the local businesses that make the neighborhood unique, including a Chinese grocery store, a brewpub, a leather boutique and a cheesecake bakery.
Mid-Autumn Festival, Saturday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Chinatown Cultural Plaza, 100 N. Beretania St., Chinatown, chinatown808.com, @chinatown808hi
Laura Dornbush is a regular contributor to HONOLULU Magazine. @ldornbush
