THOUSAND OAKS, CA. - The Third Annual Chinese Moon Festival Concert will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, in Samuelson Chapel at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

The Pacific Pearl Music Association will present a free evening of traditional Chinese and Western compositions featuring orchestral music, chorus and Chinese instruments. CLU music faculty member Eric Kinsley will open the concert with a performance on the chapel’s pipe organ and Ryan Strand, a junior music major from Minnetonka, Minn., will sing a Chinese song.

The Chinese Moon Festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, is an important holiday in the Chinese culture that has been celebrated for thousands of years. Tradition holds that the moon is at its roundest and brightest on that day, signaling a time of completeness and abundance. It is a celebration of the harvest season and a day of family reunions, much like Thanksgiving in the United States. Traditionally, family and friends get together to admire the moon and eat moon cakes. The legend associated with the festival recounts the story of a beautiful woman named Chang E who flew to the moon and has lived there ever since.

Samuelson Chapel is located south of Olsen Road near Campus Drive.

CLU's Department of Languages and Cultures and Multicultural and International Programs office are presenting the concert. For more information, contact Debby Chang at ddchang@callutheran.edu or go to http://www.callutheran.edu.