Now 75 years old, Los Angeles' Chinatown is celebrating her landmark anniversary by hosting an epic bash. The annual Mid-Autumn Moon Festival (also known as the Zhongqiu Festival or Mooncake Festival) is a tradition that dates back more than 3,000 years. Farmers marking the end of the harvest season in China would gather to gaze at the moon and eat mooncakes, yummy round pastries filled with sweet red bean or lotus seed paste. Although the farmers may not be present on Saturday, the moon cakes definitely will, offered up by local bakeries. Other festival treats look just as indulgent: Bamboo Lane's Night Market will provide traditional and contemporary edibles, while the outdoor baccarat lounge, which you may want to visit before exploring the craft beer garden, will test your autumnal karma, and telescopes provided by the Griffith Observatory will give everyone a chance to view the harvest moon from an unnaturally close vantage point. Chinatown festivals are always a good excuse to leave the house, but this looks to be one of the most decadent in recent memory. Art gallery openings, live cooking demonstrations, craft workshops and the band lineup, curated by Kevin Bronson of Buzzbands.la, are even more reason to fill the streets on this beautiful seasonal equinox. Central and West Plaza, 943-951 N. Broadway, Chinatown; Sat., Sept. 21, 5 p.m.-mid.; free. (323) 206-6491, chinatownla.com.

Sat., Sept. 21, 5 p.m.-midnight, 2013

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