When daylight and darkness meet perfectly in equal measure for the annual equinox, millions of people celebrate the Moon Festival. This South East Asian tradition recognises the harvest and changing of seasons, and in Cabramatta more than 90,000 people join in the festivities in the heart of the CBD each year, carrying lanterns, performing traditional dances and sharing mooncakes at Freedom Plaza and throughout the city streets.
The Western Sydney event is turning 21 this year, and will once again host markets, food stalls and entertainment alongside the traditional dragon dances and evening fireworks display. Some of Sydney’s most exciting Asian produce and dishes come out of Cabramatta, which has become a destination of Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese cuisines. And while each culture brings their own legends and flavours to the festival, they unify for a full day and evening of moonlit revelling.
Experience these cuisines at the dining precinct on the corner of Cabramatta Road West and John Street, where local eateries will be setting up stalls. There’ll also be some exciting guest appearances joining the troupe of local dancers and musicians. You’ll see actor, martial artist and host of SBS PopAsia Andy Trieu perform alongside Kevin Kim, who’s one ninth of the K-pop group ZE:A (also known as Children of Empire). And a Hello Kitty who’s larger than your average cat will be there for a karaoke show with fans.
Attendees can also look forward to regular festival fun like the ever-popular prawn-peeling event, kid’s chopstick challenge and the noodle and mooncake eating competitions in between the shows.
