By Lisa Gauthier Mitchison
An annual taste of China is returning to Carmel.
The seventh annual City of Carmel Chinese Mooncake Festival will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 10 at the Indiana Design Center, 200 S. Range Line Rd. Admission is free.
Many activities are planned, starting with a parade with a dragon dance and a youth silk-ribbons dance team at 6:10 p.m. on Main Street. A stage performance will showcase Chinese performing arts, including folk dances with authentic Chinese costumes, singing and an instrumental performance. There also will be hands-on activities, such as interactive performances, opportunities to make mooncakes and a cultural booth that will offer free Chinese name-writing.
Booths will offer a variety of Chinese foods, such as spring rolls, dumplings, sesame balls and an opportunity to sample mooncake and tea. There also will be a kids’ zone where children can make mooncakes with dough and hit a badminton shuttlecock. The Carmel Clay mobile library also will be on-site.
“The event is a way to pay homage to this important traditional festival next to the Chinese New Year, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated in (Carmel’s) sister city, Xiangyang, which is located in the Hubei Province, China,” said Ming Ye, chair of the Carmel-Xiangyang Sister City Committee. “That being said, it is also a way for the citizens of Carmel to have the opportunity to experience an authentic Chinese celebration.”
A mooncake is a round pastry usually filled with red bean or lotus seed paste. They are traditionally only eaten during the Mooncake Festival. A free mooncake can be reserved by sending an e-mail to carmelxiangyang@gmail.com. Name and number of mooncakes need to be specified in the e-mail. For more, visit facebook.com/CarmelMooncakeFestival/.