While it's going to be just over two weeks since the official celebration of the Chinese Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival, the Maridon Museum, 322 N. McKean St., is calling its upcoming Harvest Moon fundraiser a “continuation” of the Asian holiday.

In China and throughout eastern Asia, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the second-largest holiday, following the Chinese New Year, said Wei Bian, associate professor in the physical and health education department of Slippery Rock University and supervisor of the university's Chinese Club.

“The festival can fall anywhere from Aug. 15 until October because the date is tied to the Chinese lunar calendar,” Bian said.

Since the earliest recorded times, Chinese emperors prayed to the sun and moon each year for a good harvest.

Bian said, “That's why to the Chinese, a full moon is a really, really good thing, unlike in Western culture where a full moon is associated with madness.”

“The full moon represents harmony, unity and is also a time for family reunions as families gather to celebrate the Moon Goodness and pray for a good year. It's really similar to Thanksgiving,” she said.

And, like Thanksgiving, food is a big part of the holiday observances.

Bian said the moon cake plays a major role in Mid-Autumn Festival events.

“It's a mold in the shape of a circle, and they have all different kinds of fillings: red bean paste, lotus seed paste, sometimes egg yolks are used.”

Mid-Autumn was first celebrated as a festival during the Northern Song Dynasty (960—1127). Like the emperors, ancient people believed worshipping the moon and eating together around a table would bring them good luck and happiness.

That's the idea behind the Maridon Museum shifting its main fundraiser from the date of the Chinese New Year to the Mid-Autumn Festival, according to Roaxanne Booser, executive director of the Maridon Museum.

For the first time this year, the Maridon is going to have an autumn fundraiser, the Harvest Moon Festival, from 5:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21.

Booser said, “This is the first year. The idea came from a board member (ex-member Betsy Gibson). We were looking for an event to move to nicer weather.

“It started as the Chinese New Year's celebration and then became an Asian New Year's celebration to be more inclusive,” said Booser of the Asian art museum's previous fundraisers, which mostly took place in February.

Cathy Bronder, chairman of the museum's events committee, said, “The New Year's event faced holiday fatigue and the fact many people in Butler are snowbirds and aren't in town for it. But the weather has been the biggest challenge.

“The events committee was the liaison with the Butler County Country Club, did the decorations and picked out the menu.

“This year, we are going to have food stations. It's like at a wedding reception. You go to the roast station, you go to the pasta station,” Bronder said.

Jackie Bice, a docent at the museum and another member of the events committee said, “It's the first time we've tried it. You can just pick and choose what you want to eat.”

Booser said, “It is our largest fundraiser. It brings in the most money.”

Booser acknowledged Oct. 21 was over two weeks after the Oct. 5 full moon celebrated by the Asian holiday.

“Our dates were changed to whenever we could secure the facilities,” she said. “But we look at it as just continuing the celebration.”

Bice said, “We want more people to be able to experience it.”

Booser said the planning for the event went on for nearly a year.

She said, “We were trying to coordinate with the symphony kickoff. We didn't want to be in competition.

“It's a big challenge for Butler and all the nonprofits,” she said.

Adrienne Natili, a member of the events committee, said “The Harvest Moon gets its name because the full moon allows farmers to harvest into the evening.”

In addition to the meal, those attending can take part in bidding on gift baskets.

Booser said, “We are also going to auction off some of Mary Phillips' things. They were things she collected, but they weren't museum quality.”

The event is expected to draw between 100 and 110 people, according to Booser, but advance ticket sales have been surprisingly brisk.

Money raised during the event will be put toward education, exhibit care and maybe securing another temporary exhibit, such as last year's “Cosmic Contemporary Collaborations.”

The Harvest Moon Festival has nothing to do with Halloween, Booser said, although the Oct. 27 entry into the Maridon's Thai film series, “The Shutter,” will provide plenty of seasonal chills.

The 2004 film, directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun and Park Poom Wongpoom, is about a photographer and his girlfriend who get into a car accident, hitting a woman. But instead of attending to the victim, they run and leave her behind.

That accident starts a series of events ricocheting as different jinxed situations: the woman appearing in the photographer's pictures, his friends committing suicide and the couple experiencing apparitions.

The movie will play at 6 p.m. at the museum. The movie is free, but Booser asks attendees to call the museum at 724-282-0123 first, so museum staff can gauge attendance.

<h3>Thai Film Festival </h3>Oct. 27 — “Shutter.” This 2004 horror movie was a huge box office success making it one of the best horror movies of Thailand recognized worldwide.Nov. 10 — “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.” This 2010 movie centers on the last days in the life of its title character.INFO: The movies will play at 6 p.m. at the museum. Admission is free, but the Maridon Museum asks attendees call the museum at 724-282-0123 first, so museum staff can gauge attendance.<h3>Harvest Moon Celebration</h3>WHEN: 5:30 to 11 p.m. Oct. 21WHERE: Butler Country Club, 310 Country Club RoadINFO: Black tie optional; dinner and dancing, raffle baskets.INFO: Call the Maridon Museum at 724-282-0123.