Vovinam Lion Dancers stood tall in their lion costume during the start of the lantern parade at Saturday’s Mid-Autumn (Trung Thu Together) Festival on Town Field. (Seth Daniel photo)
Emcee Minh Phan. (Seth Daniel photo)
Lanterns and lions – and a few thousand people – celebrated on Town Field last Saturday (Oct. 4) for the annual Mid-Autumn (Trung Thu Together) Festival – a traditional Vietnamese event marking the harvest, performances, family, and the full moon.
Put on by Boston Little Saigon, the afternoon and evening program featured singing, K-Pop dance crews, youth performances, food, vendors, and the traditional lantern parade highlighting traditional Vietnamese folk tales.
A large crowd from most every walk of life and every age group found something to enjoy at the festival, including a Moon Cake eating contest and a spicy papaya salad eating contest. The event was punctuated by traditional dance performances from the Little Star child dancers and K-Pop crews Assem6le and Modu.
At dusk, colorful lanterns illuminated the park while a giant illuminated inflatable moon set the tone for the parade.
Destiny Church, center, of Modu Dance Crew, plays paper, rock, scissors as part of one of the dance numbers during the performances. K-Pop dance crews, including Modu and Assem6le, headlined the performances and brought lots of fans to Fields Corner. (Seth Daniel photos)
Emcees Minh Phan and Theresa Tran.
Logan Briggs showed off a homemade lantern while signing up with Vu Tran for the spicy papaya salad eating contest.
Van Nguyen walked under the lanterns in the center of Town Field.
Friends Theresa Vu, Annie Lee-Daly, and Jeannie Rodriguez in front of an inflatable light display at Town Field.
Popular Vietnamese American singer Ca Si Ngoc Diem sang several blues songs and ignited the crowd as she frequently does.
Posing in front of the large inflatable, illuminated moon were Kythryn Mai, Tanny Dang, Edwin Mai, and Allan Tran.
Edison Huynh was the winner of the traditional Moon Cake eating contest for youth. When asked how he felt after eating two full Moon Cakes, Huynh said, “Hungry.”
Elena of the Vovinam Lion Dancers was nothing but impressed by Edison Huynh’s Mook Cake eating abilities during the youth eating contest. Huynh went on to win the contest and the prize.
Illuminated lanterns brightened the park at dusk as children ran through the fabric. The 10 illuminated globes represented the 10 suns that once shone according to a traditional Vietnamese folktale.
(All photos by Seth Daniel/Dorchester Reporter)
Seth Daniel
News Editor, Dorchester Reporter
October 8, 2025
Source: https://www.dotnews.com/2025/town-field-festival-welcomes-autumn-celebrates-community