At 6 p.m. on Thursday, the Harvest Moon Festival began. The event was planned and executed by the Vietnamese American Student Association (VASA), and the Asian American Student Association (AASA). Members of both organizations worked together to insure the Harvest Moon Festival was a success.
Malissa Yang is the social chair for VASA. She was in charge of managing the kids games for the Harvest Moon Festival as well as the goodie bags. Yang chose to get involved with the festival because of her passion for AASA and VASA.
“My goal for Moon Festival was to be able to spread a little bit of Asian culture to as many people as possible this year, and to get AASA and VASA out there more,” said Yang.
Harvest Moon Festival certainly showcases Asian culture. It is a festival traditionally celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people within 15 days of the autumnal equinox. On the Chinese Han calendar and the Vietnamese calendar, the festival is on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, and usually on a full moon.
One of the concepts celebrated during the festival is the gathering of friends and family. This was celebrated by VASA and AASA here at OSU by having food, various performances and skits, and games and activities for kids to participate in.
The games are what Malissa Yang was responsible for creating and managing. Yang says being a part of the planning team was a great overall experience, and is happy to be involved with it.
“AASA and VASA are two of the most important organizations to me and I love getting involved with all of their events.”
(photo of the volunteers at Harvest Moon Festival Thursday evening)