For the 25th anniversary of the Chinatown Moon Festival, look for an even more impressive lineup of music this year, along with all of the favorite draws such as hundreds of vendors, the Dragon Parade, and the dog talent and costume show. It runs 11am-6pm this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 19th–20th.

The idea for the festival arose after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake ruined the Embarcadero Freeway (which was later torn down) and cut off a major artery to Chinatown. "The Chinatown Merchants Association was formed," said Cynthia Yee, the festival's entertainment coordinator. "The founders put on the first festival to bring business back into Chinatown."

Yee added that mid-autumn moon festivals celebrate the harvest. "It's almost like American Thanksgiving," she said. "The family gets together for a nice meal." 

Grant Avenue will be closed from California Street to Broadway, as will Pacific Avenue between Stockton and Kearny. The streets will be packed with booths, entertainment, food, kids' activities, cultural events and thousands of people for the weekend-long street fair. Moon cakes, which are made in various ways depending on the region of origin, are a big part of the celebration.

So what's new this year? "We have a lot of music this year," Yee said. "We have one band, Lydia Lau, and she’s a pop singer from Hong Kong. With her she will have three very popular musicians from Hong Kong, so I think the community is in for a treat.” That band will be on the main stage at Grant Avenue and Washington Street at 3pm Saturday.

Also, the College Fund Street Band—a mom, dad and two kids—will be busking along Grant Avenue throughout the festival. The full entertainment lineup can be found on the website.

Other crowd pleasers, Yee said, will be Jest Jammin', featuring the Rev. Norman Fong; Grant Avenue Follies, a senior dance group; and the Great Wall Youth Orchestra and Chorus of Laney College, which performs Chinese opera music. Chef Brandon Jew, slated to open a much-anticipated restaurant in Chinatown called Mr. Jiu's, will give a food demonstration at 1:30pm Sunday. And the dog talent and fashion show will happen at 1:45pm Sunday, with plenty of prizes.

Along with all this, look for line dancing, lion dancing, martial arts demonstrations, the Moon Goddess and Moon Archers, and more. And don't miss the Dragon Parade, starting at 11am Saturday. Yee said all three District 3 supervisor candidates—Julie Christensen, Wilma Pang and Aaron Peskin—are expected to attend, along with Assembly Member David Chiu and other dignitaries.