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Children write mooncake messages during the Mid-Autumn Moon Family Festival event held at the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) in New York, the United States, Sept. 22, 2018. The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) in New York hosted its annual Mid-Autumn Moon Family Festival on Saturday, celebrating the upcoming Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival in a fun-filled way. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

NEW YORK, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) in New York hosted its annual Mid-Autumn Moon Family Festival on Saturday, celebrating the upcoming Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival in a fun-filled way.

Starting from 12:00 p.m., the four-hour festivity featured a variety of programs, including hands-on arts activities, an exploration on the ingredients necessary for making moon cakes, a taste of traditional moon cakes, interactive storytelling and performances inspired by Chinese folk tales.

Among the activities, a shadow puppet show telling the story of Moon Goddess Chang'e and her husband, archer Hou Yi, was the highlight, according to the organizer.

Naomi Rosen, 12, told Xinhua that the event has helped her learn more about Chinese culture.

The young but ardent fan of Chinese culture traveled more than one hour from the neighboring state of Connecticut in the company of her mother to attend the festivity, after they got the information online.

"Moon cake is one of my favorite food," said Rosen, while proudly showcasing her newly finished calligraphy work, with Chinese characters meaning "Mid-Autumn Festival" on it.

The number of visitors has been increasing in recent years since the museum initiated the celebration in 2009, according to the organizer.

Saturday's activity attracted more than 400 visitors.