Mooncakes, lanterns, and sweet reunions abound at MOCA’s Mid-Autumn (中秋节) Family Festival! Join us for crafts, shadow puppets, music, games, and more as we come together to celebrate this traditional holiday.

Two sessions! Get your tickets for either the morning (10 AM – 1 PM) or afternoon (2 PM – 5 PM). Check back shortly for the full event schedule!

Tickets: $10/person. Kids 5 and under and MOCA Family Members free. Free tickets for kids 5 and under available as an add-on option to your ticket purchase. MOCA Family Members, please use your code to access free tickets. Limited free tickets for Culture Pass and Cool Culture families. Sign up through the Culture Pass website or contact Cool Culture for your access code.

Tickets may be purchased at the door on the day of the event, starting at 10:30 AM for the morning session and 2:30 PM for the afternoon session, if capacity allows.

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Performances, Workshops & Activities

Moonlit Melodies with Musician Wei Sun*
Join musician Wei Sun in learning about one of the world’s oldest string instruments, the guzheng (古筝). Enjoy a live performance inspired by the beauty of the season’s harvest moon.

About Wei Sun
Wei Sun is an acclaimed guzheng artist from China who was born into a family of musicians and started her guzheng journey at the age of 6. She is a certified senior teacher of guzheng, a member of the China National Instrumental Association and the International Guzheng Association. In 2016, she came to the United States as a guzheng performer and teacher at the CBA Cultural and Arts Center.

Chinese Theatre Works Presents Tiger Tales Shadow Puppet Performance*
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, shadow puppetry is especially popular because the full moon acts as a natural light source for performances. Join Chinese Theatre Works as they bring to life an enchanting tale where a wise old rabbit recounts stories from her eventful life to her young granddaughter– including how she came to be the Prime Minister to Tiger, the ever-hungry jungle king. All ages.

About Chinese Theatre Works
Chinese Theatre Works (CTW) has a long history of bringing traditional and innovative, contemporary Chinese performing arts to local New York City, national and international audiences. The company has won the highest honor in U.S. puppetry, a Citation of Excellence from UNIMA-USA, for their show Toy Theater Peony Pavilion. They have also been featured at festivals and conferences across the world from Puppet Power in Calgary, Canada and the Seattle International Children’s Theatre Festival to the DALA Festival (Seoul, South Korea) and the Taipei Children’s Theater Association’s Festival (Taiwan).

MOCAKIDS Author Meet & Greet with Michele Wong McSween
Be among the first to celebrate the newest Gordon & Li Li bilingual book, Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival! Join author Michele Wong McSween for an interactive bilingual adventure featuring storytelling, a fun introduction to Mandarin, and hands-on activities. Children and families will discover the legendary story of Hou Yi, Cháng’é, and the Jade Rabbit while exploring the traditions, special foods, and joy of celebrating under the bright full moon. Books and plushies will be available for purchase, and a book signing with Michele will follow the reading. Best for families with children ages 3-8. Younger and older siblings welcome!

About Michele
Michele Wong McSween, a former fashion designer, mom, and author of Gordon & Li Li, began a journey to reconnect with her Chinese heritage as a fourth-generation Chinese-American. Inspired by her children, Michele enrolled them in Mandarin classes to foster a sense of cultural identity. While seeking simple and engaging Mandarin learning materials for non-Chinese speaking families, she discovered a lack of resources and was inspired to fill that gap. This led her to create Gordon & Li Li, a bilingual book series that makes learning Mandarin approachable and fun. Michele is deeply committed to representing multicultural families and fostering a connection to Chinese culture through language.

Snowy Skin Mooncake Making with Auntie Lin**
Sharing mooncakes with friends and family is a beloved Mid-Autumn tradition. Join Auntie Lin as she shows us how to make special snowy skin mooncakes. Discover the ingredients inside mooncakes and the molds used to make them, and then eat a no-bake mooncake that you make yourself!

Munching on Mooncakes: Mooncake Tasting Station** 
Try delectable slices of traditional mooncakes courtesy of Po Wing Hong Food Marketand Fay Da Bakery.

Shoot for the Moon Scavenger Hunt 
Join a MOCA educator in following clues high and low to spot twinkling full moons and shimmering stars in the museum exhibits! Practice your archery like Hou Yi to protect the galleries!

MOCAKIDS Storytime: To the Moon and Back!
Did you know that a goddess, rabbit, and woodcutter all live on the moon? Join MOCA Educator Nancy in learning all about enchanting Chang’E and the timeless traditions of the Moon Festival.

Mid-Autumn Games

• Hou Yi’s Sun Toss: Be a hero like Hou Yi! Toss bean bags to shoot down nine of the ten suns and save the Earth from drought!
• TIMBER! Wu Gang Wood Cutting Challenge: Chinese legend says that a Man on the Moon is trying to cut down a tree that magically regrows after each ax stroke. Test your aim and your tree-cutting skills with a MOCA original game… Can you succeed where Wu Gang couldn’t?
• Bo Bing: Roll the dice and celebrate the moon! During the Mid-Autumn Festival in southern China, families and friends gather to play bo bing — a lively dice game that’s all about luck, laughter, and togetherness. Take turns rolling the dice to win special prizes.
• Mooncake Matching

Harvest Moon Picnic
The full harvest moon symbolizes family reunion and coming together. Gather around the blanket for a make-believe harvest moon picnic! Learn about the foods that families share as they gaze at the moon and give thanks for the year’s harvest. Add your own favorite treat to our community picnic using scratch art and a little imagination.

Mid-Autumn Memories Photo Corner
Soak up the limelight (or moonlight!) at our Mid-Autumn photo corner. Strike a pose with moon Goddess Chang’E, skilled archer Hou Yi, 玉兔 Yùtù the Jade Rabbit, and special moon themed props.

Drop-In Arts & Crafts

Powerful Potions
Prepare your own version of the magical elixir that lifted Chang’E from the earth to the moon! Grind salt and colorful chalk to create sparkling, colorful sand. Then, use it to fill a potion bottle and stir up some Mid-Autumn magic.

Moonlight Magic Wands
Design your own sparkling moon wand to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Fill it with shimmering sequins and watch it catch light like the moon in the night sky.

Mid-Autumn Moonscapes
Using markers, foil, and a splash of water, make your own Mid-Autumn moonscape to celebrate the season’s fullest, brightest moon! Experiment with color and texture to capture the moon’s changing beauty through the seasons.

Spectacular Shadow Stories
Construct and decorate shadow puppets of the Jade Rabbit and Moon Goddess Chang’E, using acetate, paper fasteners, markers, and more! When you finish your creation, head to MOCA’s shadow puppet theater to stage an original performance!

Artmaking with Teaching Artist Yu Rong 

*Space is limited.

**While supplies last.