On Sep. 27, a breeze of gratitude swept through the Diablo Valley College campus as over 500 attendees gathered in celebration of the first Mid-Autumn Festival.
A collaborative effort between DVC’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI) program and the Contra Costa Chinese School (COCOCS), the event welcomed families, students and faculty members to the school in honor of the annual harvest moon holiday.
“You may not be interested in learning Chinese, but you may be interested in learning [of] the Chinese culture,” said Gloria Holbrook, known as “Teacher Niu” to COCOS students, who attended the event.
Holbrook has been a Mandarin language instructor at COCOS for 15 years. At last month’s festival, she coordinated a booth for the Chinese game Tjian-zi. The game, which originates from rural areas in ancient China, required local players to keep a weighted shuttlecock in the air using any part of their body, except their hands.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., booth tents spread throughout the Commons area, promoting other cultural activities, including kinetic sand-moon cake molding, moon cake handouts, and bunny lantern zhezhi.
During this holiday, lanterns traditionally symbolize themes of prosperity and good fortune, explained organizers, and are displayed in well wishes for family members and loved ones.
In traditional Chinese culture, the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrates the full moon on the 15th day of the eighth Chinese lunar month. This detail symbolizes “unity,” celebrated by gathering families together to express their gratitude during the harvest season.
Nearly half the attendees at this year’s harvest celebration were members of COCOS families.
Holbrook, who spent the day warmly introducing visitors of various backgrounds to the traditional game, said she noticed distinct experiences between older and younger players.
“For younger kids, they have never seen [the game Tjianzi] before, so it is kind of new and interesting,” she said, “but I had a couple of grandparents [say] like, ‘Oh, my God, this refreshes my memory.’”
Holbrook said she admired witnessing a bridge being built between age and cultural gaps that separated the generations.
Guests at DVC’s Mid-Autumn Festival enjoyed a selection of multicultural Asian food and performances.
This year’s performances were showcased by four culturally diverse local groups, including Diablo Taiko, Kungfu Dragon Academy USA, Xiapei Chinese Dance and Zitheras Guzheng Learning Academy.
Holbrook shared her appreciation for the cultural outreach and impact of the event.
“It’s not just Chinese celebrating the Lunar Year, it’s many Asian countries,” Holbrook said. “
They also celebrate, so I really appreciate that this [Chinese] school can work with DVC to be more broad.”
“I think it’s a big approach for this school to get to the bigger community.”
Zitheras Guzheng Learning Academy played the closing performance, presenting a program of five classic and contemporary Guzheng pieces. The East Bay-based school shared in an official statement the significance of playing traditional Chinese zither (guzheng) music for local audiences.
“The Bay Area thrives on cultural diversity. Bringing a 2,000-year-old instrument into modern community spaces builds bridges—between generations, cultures, and musical traditions—while giving young performers a meaningful artistic voice,” said Huan Li, a program representative.
