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The Moon Festival comes to Cupertino
By AMY JENKINS
An abundance of entertainment will be provided at this year's Moon Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday emphasizing family unity, at Memorial Park in Cupertino on Sept. 29 and 30, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Last year's event drew almost 40,000 spectators in two days. Also called the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Moon Festival is the second largest holiday in Asia after the lunar new year, a type of "Chinese Thanksgiving." Organizers aim to promote unity throughout the Cupertino community.
Entertainment will include a traditional Chinese wedding parade with Mayor Sandra James as the bride, and raffle tickets sold for $100 to find her a groom and get a chance to win a trip to Taiwan. Various cultural demonstrations will be held, including a talk by Joseph Ip on Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese art of geomancy, martial arts by Larry Lam, an instructor in Los Gatos, and performances by Tai Ji Men.
The Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy will send 160 members from Taiwan to the Moon Festival to perform the ancient practice of martial arts at the event. Popularized in the 2000 Olympics, Tai Ji Men consists of volunteers of different ages and from all walks of life. They hope to spread the message of "Love of the World and a Wish for Peace," according to their mission statement. The Tai Ji Men will perform a fabric horse show, drum performance, cultural dance, flag formation and martial arts.
The keynote speaker will be Rita Ng, Miss California 2000 and 2nd runner up to Miss America. Ng plays classical piano, wrote the children's book Pen Pals, graduated from Stanford and is currently a student at UCSF medical school.
Another highlight is the free moon cake sample to all who attend. The moon cake is a giant cake that comes from Cupertino's sister city Hsin Ju, Taiwan.
Cultural booths will include a Chinese fortune teller, Chinese arts and crafts, lantern making and bilingual books.
For more information about this event, call 408.865.6688.
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
