The town of Braintree recently buzzed with activity at its first Mid-Autumn Festival. The Festival, set on October 1st at the French’s Common park, is a tradition in Chinese culture, commemorating the end of the Autumn harvest. Aiding in the celebration was Braintree High School’s Asian Student Association, also known as the ASA.
“Our goal is to promote inclusivity and awareness of Asian cultures. We want to ensure that students at BHS feel welcome and ready to spread their culture,” said Anika, one of two club Presidents of ASA. “In addition, we work as a support group and an educational resource for Asian students who are interested in learning more about various Asian cultures.”
According to her fellow President, Emily Lei, “ASA had numerous goals for the Mid Autumn festival.
Throughout the year, we look forward to creating more funding in the club so our club members can be provided with more resources and experience when it comes to learning about the different Asian cultures. In addition, we also want to be able to take on various leadership roles, like how we had activity leaders in the festival, allowing the students of ASA to gain experience, while also benefiting Braintree as a whole, celebrating the very first mid-Autumn festival. We hope that people were able to experience the various Asian cultures that came together during not only performances but also through the vendors and activity stations we had created.”
The Mid-Autumn festival contained a variety of activities, including performances and stalls, that encompassed numerous aspects of Asian culture. From the Lion Dance to the food, many could get a taste, of aspects from cultures they are unfamiliar with.
“By unifying the various Asian cultures represented in Braintree, we hope to show Braintree’s diversity and inclusion through the celebration of the festival.”
Those who missed this year’s Mid-Autumn festival are in luck, for this year’s festival will not be a one time event: in fact, it will be the start of a brand new annual tradition.
“The festival structure is bound to change a little bit every year as we look for new ways of improvement, but we hope that every year is just as great as the last.”
