On Sunday, September 15 from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm, the Roslyn Branch assisted at the Lunar Festival in Eisenhower Park and helped celebrate Asian culture.
Paper lanterns are a big part of Chinese culture and played a major role in the festivities. Starting off, our volunteers got there early to prepare for the celebration by distributing the lantern making materials equally to the many tables. We counted out 200 covers, 200 bases, and 200 LED candles per table, a tedious task that took a very long time, and allotted them to the respective stands. Afterwards, our volunteers familiarized themselves with the lantern building techniques and constructed a display tower exhibiting the various designs.
Once the people started trickling in, our volunteers jumped straight into the frenzy. From stamping children’s hands to showing them how to decorate the lanterns to constructing it, our volunteers worked seamlessly together like a well-oiled machine. While one person tested the LED candles, another fastened it to the lantern base. As a person asked the children which color they wanted, another was waiting close behind and ready with the options.
While some of the volunteers worked on the lanterns, another group cut out and distributed mooncakes to the crowd of people. Though it was hard to cut through the salted yolk and we didn’t have enough containers to distribute it, our volunteers solved the problem by innovatively ripping large paper plates into bits.
The celebration was lots of fun and we loved seeing so many families from different cultures enjoying and learning about this Chinese celebration.
Members who participated include:
Yang Amy Wu (4 hours), Nicholas Chao (4 hours), Jamie Zhao (4 hours), Abigail Zhao (4 hours), Charleen Fu (4 hours), Miles Hu (4 hours), Aidan Yuen (4 hours), Shinree Zhang (4 hours), Lerine Zhang (4 hours), Letao Tao (6 hours), and Kacie Li (2.5 hours).
Reporter: Yang Amy Wu