The Nanaimo Chinese Cultural Society is hosting its second annual Mid-Autumn Festival on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Maffeo Sutton Park, complete with mooncakes, a kids zone, and plenty of chances to decorate your own lantern. (The Nanaimo Chinese Cultural Society)

By Jordan Davidson

mooncakes and fireworks

‘Going to be phenomenal:’ Mid-Autumn Festival taking over Nanaimo’s Maffeo Sutton Park

Sep 26, 2025 | 2:07 PM

NANAIMO — A popular fall tradition from Asia is ready to make a big impact locally this weekend.

The second annual Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon or Mooncake Festival, takes place on Saturday, Sept. 27, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Maffeo Sutton Park, filled with free family-friendly events and ending with a fireworks display.

Put on by the Nanaimo Chinese Cultural Society (NCCS), chair Jerry Hong told NanaimoNewsNOW the Mid-Autumn Festival is akin to Thanksgiving in different Asian cultures, traditionally taking place in the middle of the eighth month of the lunar new year when the moon is the brightest.

“We wanted to expose the culture and the heritage and the traditions from all over Southeast Asia to the residents of Nanaimo, and this was the best opportunity for us to do so. I think we will be the largest Mid-Autumn Festival in all of the province of B.C. We’re going to be even bigger than the ones they do in Vancouver…it’s going to be phenomenal.”

Different Asian cultural groups such as NCCS and 7 Potatoes, will show off their culture through traditional art, dances, family activities, and of course, mooncakes.

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Hong said mooncakes are a traditional Chinese dessert, normally a wrapped cake with bean paste or an egg dish inside.

“But now they have evolved to all different sizes and shapes, and we’re going to have the Mooncakes available for free tasting, and we’ll have mooncakes for sale down there as well.”

Mooncakes of all kinds will be available for purchase and to sample at the Mid-Autumn Festival. (Nanaimo Chinese Cultural Society)

Once decorated, the lanterns will be hung in trees or set afloat at Sway-A-Lana Lagoon, with the floating lanterns believed to be a way to honour a loved one, wish for a bright future and good harvest, or as a way to fend off misfortune, said Hong.

“The kids get free lanterns they can paint, and then they’re on a stick with lights so they can walk around with lanterns. We hang them up in the trees for you, and then at the end of the night you can come back, claim your lanterns and take them home with you.”

Hong said the fireworks will be set off along the crab dock, using smaller, commercial-grade fireworks, which lessen the disruptions to nearby wildlife.

It also means that if you want to see the fireworks on Saturday, you’ll have to come downtown to get the best view.

Money raised by donations goes right back to the NCCS, with plans to make next year’s event even bigger.

More information can be found here on the NCCS’s Facebook page.

Free lanterns for kids will be available to decorate, while adults can get theirs by donation. (NCCS on Facebook)

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