More than 1,000 people gathered at Grizzli Winery in West Kelowna on Sept. 27 for OCCA Communities Association’s Mid-Autumn Festival, the largest crowd in the event’s three-year history. The free, family-friendly celebration brought music, dance, food and hands-on cultural activities into one afternoon, according to a Sept. 30 report by Castanet and OCCA’s own recap.
OCCA described this as its third annual festival. Its pre-event listing set the program for 1 to 5 p.m., described admission as free and open to all ages, and highlighted cultural performances, mooncake making, a children’s activity area, food and an artisan market.
The afternoon opened with a Territory Welcome from Elder Rose Lube. Elder Llana Teichroeb also joined the celebration, Castanet reported. OCCA’s recap adds that representatives of Westbank First Nation took part, including Sncəwips, the Nation’s cultural and heritage organization. The event took place in the Central Okanagan, where OCCA says it works among diverse communities.
Organizers also encouraged guests to learn about the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which fell on Sept. 30, three days after the festival. Castanet reported the invitation as part of the day’s welcome. OCCA’s recap places it within a gathering that celebrated cultural traditions and included local Indigenous participation.
A program shared across generations
The program moved among traditions represented by local organizations. The Chinese Freemasons presented a dragon and lion dance; the Okanagan Filipino Canadian Society performed Binasuan; and the Okanagan Mexican Folklore Dance Group shared folkloric dance. OCCA also listed performances by the Kelowna Japanese Language Society and Dragon Spirit Tai Chi, along with a duet from Korean Canadian Community Living Society singers. The OCCA lineup also included Dragon Spirit Tai Chi’s umbrella dance and Baduanjin. Alongside the folkloric dances, language-society performances and duet, those acts brought several forms of music and movement into the program.
OCCA’s recap lists youth and children’s groups, dance and guitar groups, a Chinese Peacock Dance and the Golden Age Choir among its participants. It placed these acts alongside organizations representing different cultural traditions, giving the afternoon a varied program.
Visitors could join in activities between performances. OCCA listed Chinese calligraphy, origami, cultural displays, tea tasting and mooncake making with a free tasting. A dedicated children’s activity area gave younger guests another way to take part. Alongside the stage program, these activities made cultural learning a hands-on part of the afternoon.
The festival also included an artisan market, a family photo station, food and drinks, and prize draws, according to OCCA. The association said guests came from around the Okanagan and beyond, naming communities including Kelowna, Peachland, Penticton, Vernon, Lake Country, Salmon Arm, Oliver and Metro Vancouver. It did not provide attendance totals for individual towns.
Executive director Fei Liu told Castanet that seeing families and neighbours together was moving. She said the festival aimed to share Mid-Autumn traditions with the wider community and bring people from different cultures and generations together. Her description connects the event to OCCA’s stated mission: promoting mutual understanding, respect, acceptance and harmony among Central Okanagan communities. Its values include creating spaces for people of all ages, building intergenerational connections and encouraging cultural learning.
A gathering rooted in OCCA’s work
OCCA, formerly the Okanagan Chinese Canadian Association, is a grassroots non-profit that offers employment and entrepreneurship programs for newcomers, language and settlement support, anti-racism education and cultural programming, Castanet reported. The association’s own mission page also describes work that helps immigrants and refugees participate in civic, cultural and economic life.
The Sept. 27 gathering was one public expression of that wider work. OCCA thanked performers, cultural groups, partners, volunteers and families in its recap. The event brought local organizations together around a free program of music, dance, food and activities, and its record turnout showed that more than 1,000 people came to share the afternoon.
For a three-year-old event, the turnout marked a milestone for the association’s community celebration. Liu described connection and belonging as central to OCCA’s work. At the festival, local cultural groups and performers shared Mid-Autumn traditions with a wider audience.
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