Where to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in Oregon

With autumn approaching, the lunar calendar's Mid-Autumn Festival will be celebrated Sept. 10.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the moon festival or mooncake festival, is celebrated on the eighth month of the lunar calendar. The holiday is also called Tsukimi in Japanese, Tết Trung Thu in Vietnamese, Chuseok in Korean and by other names across East and Southeast Asian countries.

To celebrate, East and Southeast Asian people traditionally get together with their families to eat mooncake. Nowadays, families still get together but community events are also often held.

While there aren't any events in the Mid-Valley, here are events happening across the state where you can take part in admiring the moon.

Moonlight market at Lan Su Chinese Garden

Visit Lan Su Chinese Garden Sept. 4 and Sept. 5 to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with a night market. This will be the first time the garden is bringing in a market featuring local Asian businesses and food vendors. The event will also have a children's story time and cultural performances.

The event will be held from 2-9 p.m. both days, with lion dances at 4, 6 and 8 p.m., live music performances at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m., children's story time at 6:30 p.m. and a moon rabbit lantern parade at 7 p.m.

Purchase tickets at the event or in advance on the garden's website. Tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for seniors (ages 62 and older) and students (ages 18+ with valid school ID), $10 for youth (ages 6 to 18) and free for children 5 and younger.

There is also a family pass, which includes two adults and two youth for $49. Advanced purchase of tickets online is highly encouraged due to limited capacity at the garden.

For more information, check out the Lan Su Chinese Garden website.

Address: 239 NW Everett St., Portland.

Night market and celebration at Collective Oregon Eateries

Collective Oregon Eateries will host a free night market with performances, kid-friendly games, raffles and mooncakes. This is the first year the White Lotus Foundation and Collective Oregon Eateries are teaming up to put on the event.

It will be held only on Sept. 10 at Collective Oregon Eateries in the Jade District. For more information, check visit the event website.

Address: 3612 SE 82nd Ave., Portland.

Tết Trung Thu at Ron Russell Middle School

The Vietnamese Community of Oregon is hosting Tết Trung Thu from 3-6 p.m. Sept. 10 at Ron Russell Middle School. The free event will be hosted primarily in Vietnamese. There will be activities for children, live performances, lion dancing, lanterns and mooncakes.

Address: 3955 SE 112th Ave., Portland.

O-Tsukimi at the Portland Japanese Garden

O-Tsukimi, or moon viewing, is the Japanese custom of enjoying the full moon for mid-autumn. The Portland Japanese Garden will be open for the evenings of Sept. 10 and 11 to partake in O-Tsukimi, which will also include traditional instrument performances plus a light meal and beverages.

On Sept. 10, the garden will be open from 7-9 p.m., with moonrise timed for 8:06 p.m. On Sept. 11, the garden will be open from 7:30-9:30 p.m., with moonrise timed for 8:26 p.m. The Flat Garden is also raked in its once-a-year checkerboard pattern to emulate shadows cast in the moonlight.

Tickets for the event are $65 for non-members of the garden and $50 for members. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Portland Japanese Garden website.

Address: 611 SW Kingston Ave., Portland.

Em Chan covers food and dining at the Statesman Journal. You can reach her at echan@statesmanjournal.com, follow her on Twitter @catchuptoemily or see what she's eating on Instagram @sikfanmai.ah.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Mid-Autumn Festival events feature cultural activities around Oregon