The Chinatown Merchants Association with Title Sponsor AT&T will present the Annual Autumn Moon Festival to be held in Chinatown on Saturday and Sunday, September 14th and 15th, 2013.

Chinatown's best-attended annual event, will begin with a grand opening ceremony and parade at 11am on Saturday starting at California and Grant. As in years past, events will include free live entertainment, an open-air pedestrian street bazaar featuring a wide array of bargain merchandise, and multiple parades along historic Grant Avenue between California Street and Columbus Avenue. Festivities will continue non-stop until 6pm daily. Thousands of local residents and foreign visitors typically attend the Moon Festival each year.

A variety of cultural performances will be offered on the main stage throughout the festivities, hosted by Mistresses of Ceremonies Anita Cheung and Rose Chung. Guest entertainers include dancers in ornate costumes from the Flying Angels. Other performers include Taiko drumming group, Jiken Daiko and Hawaiian group, Ka Ehu Kai. Festival attendees will enjoy the contemporary sounds of popular Mix, Mash and Bash on Saturday afternoon and Just Jammin' on Sunday afternoon. World renowned grandmaster, Dr. Effie Chow, will demonstrate some therapeutic Qi Gong exercises on Sunday morning at 11 a.m.

A special Dragon parade will occur on Saturday at 5 p.m. in memory of Sinclair Louie, founder of the SF Chinatown's Autumn Moon Festival. Mr. Louie was a well respected Chinatown entrepreneur and philanthropist. The grand dragon finale will be held at 5 p.m.on Sunday.

The Festival sponsors will once again be present to provide wonderful exhibits, raffles, and free giveaways. Title sponsor, AT&T, will be featured on the corner of Washington and Grant. Pacific Street will showcase Ford’s fleet of beautiful vehicles. Several sponsors, including Major Sponsor, Graton Resort and Casino, and CoSponsor, Thunder Valley, will be on-hand to offer games, raffles and gifts.

Celebrated for more than 1,000 years in Asia, the Moon Festival marks a time to reflect upon the bounty of the summer harvest, the fullness of the moon, and the myth of the moon Goddess, Chang O (or Chang E). The Moon Festival is a distinctly and authentically Asian holiday, which has been likened to a "Chinese Thanksgiving". It is among the most popular holidays in Asia, ranking alongside the celebration of the lunar New Year in cultural significance.

With the celebration of the Moon Festival in San Francisco each year, east meets west, traditional meets modern, and a joyous time is had by all in the streets of historic Chinatown. Local and visitors alike are cordially invited to join in the grand 23rd anniversary celebration of the Moon Festival.

Note: Attendance at the Autumn Moon Festival is always heavy, so the public is encouraged to use MUNI or BART.