MUSIC/DANCE : Autumn Moon Fest Will Rise Over Costa Mesa

According to one Chinese folk tale, it’s not a man in the moon that we see; it’s a jade rabbit grinding medicine with a mortar and pestle. No one knows how the rabbit got there. But if you look at the moon’s surface, you’ll be able to see him.

That tale and several others resonate behind the Autumn Moon Celebration, an annual event celebrated by the Chinese and also for years by residents of Orange County. The next Autumn Moon Celebration takes place locally on Saturday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa.

“Actually, it’s an August Moon celebration,” says Scoti Erdmann, curator of education at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, which is sponsoring the event at the Center. “The celebration coincides with harvest, but it is not a harvest celebration. It has to do with changes of season.”

Appearing on the program will be the Yip’s Children’s Choir from Hong Kong, the Lin Long Dancers from Taiwan and several local groups, including the North Orange County Children’s Choir and the Fullerton Chinese Children’s Choir.

Erdmann said that event is “atypical museum programming,” but it reflects three basic goals:

“We want to take advantage of bringing in these groups from Taiwan and Hong Hong and also local groups,” she said. “The second thing is, we want to use it as an opportunity to do outreach to the Chinese and other Asian communities.

“Third, we want to expand beyond the Chinese community to inform the general Orange County community about the many different Chinas--not just the mainland and Taiwan, but the great diversity within the country.”

Proceeds will go to the Museum’s educational programs. The Museum hopes to raise $32,000, according to Erdmann.

In addition to the event at the Center, the Museum also is sponsoring a program enlisting various Asian Pacific arts groups, today through Sunday at the Anaheim Convention Center.

What: Autumn Moon Celebration.

When: Saturday, Aug. 24, at 8 p.m.

Where: Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.

Whereabouts: San Diego (405) Freeway to Bristol Street exit. North to Town Center Drive. (Center is one block east of South Coast Plaza.)

Wherewithal: $10 to $25.

Where to Call: (714) 556-2787.