Moon Festival, last Night Market of summer is Saturday

(ABC 6 News) – The Night Market finale of the summer, and Moon Festival is taking place on Saturday in downtown Rochester.

The event will be at Mayo Civic Center Riverfront Plaza and Civic Center Drive from 4 to 10 p.m.

As a result, Civic Center Drive SE from 2nd St. SE to Center St. E will be completely closed off to traffic. The roadway will close from 12:00 p.m. Saturday until 6:00 a.m. Sunday.

The event will feature over 60 vendors.

This Night Market coincides with the Chinese mid-autumn festival, or Moon Festival (which is also celebrated throughout Asia). And, in Taiwan, at least, the celebration takes over the streets, including tiny boulevard grill parties.

During this festival, families admire the moon, share mooncakes and pomelo fruits, grill sausages, and more.

Tiffany Alexandria, the Night Market organizer, says that the bi-weekly markets throughout the summer has paid off. “Vendors have become family. The most beautiful thing is that we truly are a community. So often people selling within the same category or businesses see each other as competition; they don’t want to help each other. But after a summer of markets, the vendors have become friends. It’s really fun. It’s cool.”

There will be several artisans and performances celebrating Asian culture throughout the evening.

To learn more about the event, CLICK HERE.