The Mid-Autumn Festival is typically held during mid-September or early October each year and is a holiday celebrated in Vietnam and across Asia, and for UofM this year, was hosted by the VSA on Wed., Sept. 25.
“The Mid-Autumn Festival is about parents giving back to their kids and families giving back to their relatives,” said Samantha Vo, the external vice president of the VSA. “It signifies the end of the harvest.”
Traditional Vietnamese food was served, along with tea and moon pies, and egg rolls donated by Saito, an Asian restaurant in Bartlett. There was also a photo booth and a face painting booth and performances.
“The Mid-Autumn Festival marks the halfway point of the Vietnamese year and is a celebration for families and loved ones,” said Kenny Huynh, internal vice president of the VSA.
The VSA hosts the festival every year and has been preparing for months.
“The president mainly put this together, but I added tips and other ideas while also setting it up,” said Amanda Ngo, the secretary of the VSA. “I’m very proud of how it turned out and how well all the performers did, especially with many of them being high schoolers who had to work hard to do this.”
The first performance was the Lion Dance, performed by four people in two lion costumes.
“This is a custom we do in Vietnam, and we want to spread it and show it to others,” said Danny Vo, the captain of the Lion Dancers. “We have been practicing every weekend for this event and are very proud of what we do.”
The next performance was women in traditional Vietnamese dresses who danced with lanterns to a Vietnamese pop song.
The last performance of the night was the fan dancers, consisting of many of the older members of the VSA who danced with fans.
Finally, the night ended on the alumni lawn with a movie titled Over the Moon, which was made in Vietnam. They also gave out paper lanterns with paint to decorate them, and a little light to put inside them.
