Celebrating the Mid- Autumn Festival

In Malaysia, one of the most colourful celebrations in the Chinese community is the Mid –Autumn Festival where families gather together during the evening to light lanterns, eat moon cakes and appreciate the round moon during the season.

The full moon symbolises the family reunion which is why it is also call the Festivals of Togetherness or a reunion among the locals here.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivities in China and it is also celebrated here in Malaysia since the very first generation of Chinese migrants since the 18th centuries.

In conjunction of this year’s celebration, CreatiVision DC Sdn Bhd is organising an event endorsed and supported by Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang (MPPP) and also Penang Global Tourism.

This year, the state of Penang together with local schools across the state, several Chinese associations and the media will witness The Mid- Autumn FestoRama @ The Pearl of The Orient 2012 which is aimed at trying to promote the Chinese culture among locals and tourists alike.

The event will be launched by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng on 30th September 2012 (The 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunar calendar), at the Beach Street at 10am which will be follow by a Lion Dance performance.

As the event will be whole day long starting 8am until 11am, and is not linked to a religious ceremony, people from different races are encouraged to take part in this event where the organiser will incorporate a wide range of entertainment and programs.

Among the programs that have been lined up by the organisers is the Buskers’ Fest for Charity 2012 where students from local schools and colleges are encourage to take part in this charity program as a busker.

Three beneficiaries have been chosen in this charity program and the buskers are responsible to raise funds for this three different beneficiaries.

Another program which is set to become an attraction during the event is The Most Creative Lantern Competition where this program’s objective is to try to cultivate art education as well as to preserve the traditional skills of lantern-making.

As this skill of lantern making can be quite rare among modern day children, organisers are inviting local Chinese schools and association especially the children to take part in this program. Monetary prizes up to RM2000 are up for grabs for most creative lantern assemble during the competition.

The Most Creative Moon Cake Competition is one of the programs that include monetary prizes up to RM3000 for the most creative moon cake baked during the event.

Accomplished and trained moon cake makers are invited to show off their skill in moon cake baking and be a winner on that auspicious day.

Apart from the competition, there will also be a lantern parade included the program. The parade will start at approximately at 7.30PM and start from Lebuh Pantai.

There will also be a firework display right after the parade. A street carnival also has been planned by the organiser where pavilions for different cultures will be on the display during the one day event.

Games and contest such as Moon Cake eating competition and The Riddle Guessing competition also has been lined up for the visitors.

For member of public who are interested in taking part in the event as contestants or vendors, they can call CreatiVision at 019-2720999 or 03-40421000 or log on to the CreatiVision website or their Facebook page for further information.