Harvest Moon Festival to return to Rochester region

ROCHESTER, N.Y. ( WROC ) — Preparation is underway for the 2024 Rochester Harvest Moon Festival — a celebration of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage in the Greater Rochester region. APAPA Interim President Sungmin Shin joining News 8 at Sunrise to preview the family-friendly event.

“We had an amazing event last year! We were all very nervous about how it was going to go down because it was the first time, you know, doing the event, but we had an amazing turn out. We had great vendors, food, music, dance, artisans, cultural activities, and it was a big success,” Shin details to News 8’s Mikhaela Singleton .

“It will, I think, be bigger than last year, because there’s a lot of anticipation, and since we had such a great event last year, we had so many more people that wanted to be involved this year,” he goes on to say.

The organizing group, APAPA Rochester, estimates there were approximately 4,000 in attendance for the inaugural year of the Harvest Moon Festival in 2023 , which celebrates abundance and family togetherness predominantly observed in Eastern and South Asian cultures.

“Many of us have moved here or emigrated here, so visiting back home can be a bit of a challenge. So [the festival] is a great way for us to come together as a community and become one big family,” Shin explains.

APAPA Rochester invites everyone to join the free event to be held at the Pittsford Grain Tower parking lot on September 21 from 10 am to 6 pm . News 8 acting as this year’s official media sponsor and Sunrise Anchor Mikhaela Singleton will act as event emcee!

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