Festival in Chinatown took on a special significance this year as the community fights the development of a controversial arena.

At a festival to celebrate the light of a full moon, the joy felt dimmed as residents of Chinatown once again turned to expressing outrage over the proposed arena and the mayor's endorsement of it.

“It’s a time for Chinatown as a community to really come out, see each other, celebrate this wonderful, precious community,” said Cinthya Hioe, communications manager at Asian Americans United, the non-profit that organized the event for the 29th year. Hioe said about 300 volunteers helped coordinate the event.

Festival celebrations are underway in the U.S., honoring an ancient tradition rooted in East and Southeast Asian cultures. From lantern parades to mooncake tastings, families and communities across the country are coming together to admire the season’s full moon and embrace the togetherness symbolized by the occasion.

Visitors take pictures of the grand lantern show on display at the Garden Expo Park on the eve of Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) Visitors look at the flowers shaped lantern lights display during the grand lantern show at the Garden Expo Park on the eve of Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing,

Moon Festival, or Mid-Autumn is a tradition celebrated in several east Asian cultures to mark the start of the harvest season. According to CNN, Mid-Autumn falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month and is celebrated as a time for families to gather to sample autumn harvests,

The sharing of round mooncakes amongst family members during the week of the festival signifies the completeness and unity of families.

Chinese Community Correspondent Faye Qiu shares how her family bakes mooncakes for the the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Philadelphia’s Chinatown celebrated its Mid-Autumn Festival on Saturday and hundreds flocked to 10th Street to celebrate the neighborhood and its culture in the wake of Mayor Parker’s decision to back an arena in the area.