UCA students and the Conway community were invited to celebrate with the UCA Chinese Culture club at its annual Mid-Autumn Festival Friday, Sept. 9, from 4-6 p.m. in the McCastlain Hall Fireplace room.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also called the Mooncake Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival held to celebrate the end of the harvest season.
The festival was hosted by the UCA Chinese Culture Club in cooperation with the UCA Center for Chinese Language and Culture and UCA Global Spotlight.
Guo-Ou Zhuang helped put together the event. Zhuang is an Associate Professor of Chinese and a supporter of the UCA Chinese Culture club.
“UCA is the only university in Arkansas that has a Chinese major so being able to celebrate the festival here is important,” Zhuang said. “The Center for Chinese Language and Culture was founded in July 2021 so this is one of the first major events we’ve been able to have after the pandemic.”
Because of social distancing guidelines, the festival last year was held outside while in the past it was held in the Baum Art Gallery auditorium. This year was a slow approach back to normal.
Members of the Chinese Culture Club, students and faculty and the Conway community all gathered to take part in the festival.
Mooncakes, a traditional festival food, were served alongside other refreshments like fortune cookies and tea.
While attendees mingled with each other, Chinese calligraphy was put on display. The calligraphy was created by UCA students in a Chinese calligraphy course offered by the school.
Paige Hooten, a senior art major, was one of the featured calligraphers.
“I don’t know Chinese but I’ve had a lot of experience with seeing Chinese calligraphy,” Hooten said. “A lot of Chinese calligraphy artists are also painters and I’ve heard that learning more about calligraphy can help your art. When I took the class, they helped me learn a lot of stuff that will be useful for me in my art.”
Freshman Carlee Skinner is a linguistics major and a member of the Chinese Culture Club. Skinner dreams of one day traveling abroad to teach English in China and joined the club to learn more about Chinese culture.
“Being in the Chinese Culture Club has helped me become immersed in the culture and learning about and attending events like these is a plus,” Skinner said.
Samara Lasker, a freshman, also joined the Chinese Culture Club to gain a broader understanding of the culture.
“Students who aren’t Chinese can still gain a lot from being a part of the club,” Lasker said. “You can find a lot of diversity that you’d never think you could find here. It’s honestly really great.”
UCA Global Spotlight and the UCA Center for Chinese Language and Culture have more upcoming events to promote the UCA Chinese Culture Club and get students excited to learn more about the Chinese culture.
On Wednesday, Sept. 14, a Chinese karaoke party will be held in the Ronnie Williams Student Center ballroom at 6 p.m. All students are welcome to come and step up to the mic.