(FOX40.COM) \u2014 Thousands of people across our community joined together along Power Inn Road Saturday for the Mid-Autumn Festival to celebrate Asian culture \u2014 and to light the sky with beautiful traditional lanterns.<\/p>\n
Countries all throughout Asia celebrate the mid-autumn festival each year\u2026 And here in Northern California, this event is expected to draw in more than 10,000 attendees over the course of two days.<\/p>\n
For Kevin Phan, CEO of the Conference of Asian American Professionals, this is about more than event planning. He said he wanted to bring a piece of Vietnam to Sacramento.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to keep this tradition alive,\u201d Phan said.<\/p>\n
According to some attendees and performers, his mission was successful.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really, like, warm and welcoming so far,\u201d an attendee said.<\/p>\n
For Katie Phan, this event takes her back to her childhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember I was\u2026 with my friend\u2026 lighting up and going around the neighborhood at night, eating mooncakes\u2026 under the round moon,\u201d Phan said.<\/p>\n
At Saturday\u2019s event, people sang together, danced and bonded. Around 30 organizers with CAAPS and 200 volunteers brought this event to life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited for the moment where we can light lanterns together, so it\u2019s even more, more amazing at night,\u201d Katie Phan said. \u201cLanterns in our culture represent our hope, unity and the new beginnings.\u201d<\/p>\n
This event allowed attendees to taste the culture, too. Jonathan Lam and Cynthia Aung-Lam with Pegasus Bakery and Cafe said food can help foster the spirit, unity and tradition this event is all about.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have coconut cream buns, the mini size,\u201d Cynthia said while showcasing her team\u2019s wide array of baked goods. \u201cWe have the red bean mini moon cake. This is the matcha mini moon cake\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
The duo described how grateful they are to be a part of event\u2019s like Saturday\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes us feel very blessed, actually, to be able to share culture and just keep keep it alive,\u201d Cynthia Aung-Lam said.<\/p>\n
It is free to attend the event. Organizers told FOX40 they want to share the beauty of their heritage and history \u2014 giving Sacramento residents, what they hope, will be the experience of a lifetime.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a proud Vietnamese American,\u201d Vincent Phan, CAAPS\u2019s Young Professional Alliance Chairman, said. \u201cI was born and raised this country, but obviously my parents, they\u2019re refugees from a different country. So to have an event of this caliber, this nature, to preserve Vietnamese culture heritage means it means a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you missed Saturday\u2019s event, there\u2019s still time to experience the festivities! The festival goes from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.<\/p>\n
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