The University of Central Arkansas attracted students, alumni and community members with cultural performances and food to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on Oct.14.
“I really like it. This is my fifth year coming to this event,” Celine Evans-Kennard said.
Evans-Kennard is a UCA alumnus in French and Asian culture who now works at UCA Career Services.
The event, organized by the UCA Center for Asian Languages and Cultures, was held from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, traditionally is a time for family reunion and appreciating the full moon.
It is celebrated with specific meanings in different countries.
In Vietnam, it is the Children’s Festival; in Indonesia and China, it is the Lantern Festival; in Thailand and Japan, it is the Moon Praying Festival; and in Cambodia and South Korea, it is the Autumn Eve.
To celebrate one of the largest festivals in East Asian countries, the host organization provided mooncakes, boba tea, and an Asian cuisine variety alongside various cultural performances.
“This event creates opportunities for students to build skills in Asian culture and language and learn more about other continent’s cultures to be rich in knowledge all over the world,” Center for Asian Languages and Cultures director Guo-Ou Zhuang said.
Zhuang also thanked the event’s meal partners: Rong Chinese restaurant, Pho Huyen Vietnamese restaurant, Sweet House Donuts and Ice Cream, and Love’s Donuts.
While giving a welcoming speech, Zhuang also explained the meaning of Mid-Autumn Festival across Asian countries and celebrates the festival in different languages: Vietnamese, Mandarin, Thai, Cambodian, Japanese, South Korean, and Indonesian.
“The event is pretty good, but I wish they could do karaoke,” Kayla Evans-Kennard, a senior psychology major and Asian Studies minor, said.
After the welcome speech, the event’s program listed several music performances by UCA students.
Four violinists performed three Chinese traditional songs: “Horse Race,” “Liang Zhu,” and “Blooming Flowers and Full Moon.”
Two students sang a duet of “Beautiful Myth” right before a solo performance of “The Drunken Concubine” by a student in a full traditional Chinese costume.
“The music performances are really good. I think it’s a little loud but I really enjoy it,” Celine said.
The performances ended with a Wadaiko performance, which featured the traditional Japanese drums.
Dinner concluded the event, where they served food and drinks of Asian cuisine from meal partners as mentioned above.
“I’m originally from China but I was adopted by Americans and came to Arkansas when I was 10 months old,” Jadyn Askins, a freshman majoring in Radiology at UCA, said. “I went back to China for two weeks in 2016 and 2018, I love the food over there that’s why I went to this event.”
Kayla also shared her journey of reaching Asian culture in general and Chinese culture specifically.
“In high school, I watched a lot of Chinese dramas, and I got into Chinese culture. Then I took Chinese classes and tried to go to those kinds of events,” Kayla said.
The event aimed to unite the UCA community while celebrating and sharing East Asian heritage.
