Celebrating the Harvest Moon

It's the weekend of the Harvest Moon and hundreds of people are gathering for a weekend of great food, music, and spirits. I was dropped off and left at the festival on Friday and planned on not getting picked back up until Sunday. The mouthwatering smell of a wide arrangement of food already filled the air and the celebration hasn't even started yet. People were slowly setting up their tents and visiting with friends from the year before.

I set up my one person tent first so I didn't have to worry about it later. I wanted to get the most out of this wonderful celebration I could. As I set up the tent a couple of friends showed up and asked if they can park their tents next to mine. Of course I said yes, and we started a multicolored tent city in a corner down the hill from the bonfire pit.

My tent was assembled and my friends were ready to go check out this years setup. We walked up there hill towards the entrance to the main stage area. Above the entrance was a Harvest Moon sign made out of a rectangular tin centered under a think string of arranged flowers brilliantly hand strung by one of the many working volunteers. The band schedule was leaned up against the tree to the right. People were already starting to gather in front of the main stage, the Radish, awaiting an amazing compilation of bands to start spreading harmonious tunes through the autumn air.

Surrounding the seating area in front of the three stages were various tents and buildings. There was the merchandise tent where you could buy t-shirts and hooded sweaters with the Harvest Moon logo on the front. There was the kitchen where many people worked hard to prepare the weekends feast of the most wonderful tastes in the area. There was the electrical booth that contained the lighting, and sound, controls. There was also the hangout tent that had sparkling light filled glass bottles strung up across the creased ceiling. You could find comfortable chairs, a pool table, and a bathtub with bottomless kegs awaiting the crowd.

After wandering around the grounds for a while the sky began to fall into darkness and some of the volunteers were getting ready to light up the massive bonfire. The food bell rings and a woman's loud voice flows over the chatting crowd. "DINNER IS SERVED!! ENJOY!!"

There is over twenty selections of different eats to put on my plate when I finally got to the front of the line. The selection consisted of different types of meats, pastas, vegetables, and beverages. I piled my plate high and sat at the picnic table under the hangout tent with my friends.

As my plate was almost empty and my stomach was almost to the point of bursting, I heard the first band begin to play and a flash of brilliant light broke the darkness as someone lit the bonfire. The flames reached high into the night sky as people began to flock towards the main stage. It seemed like hundreds of people magically appeared from nowhere, because I turned my gaze away for one second and when I turned back the seating area was full. There were children dancing and running around the crowd with their friends as everyone else sat in their personal lawn chairs, they brought from home, and enjoyed the wonderful music and food.

The crowd was very impressive this year. I could see faces I remember from last year and hundreds of new faces floating in the light from the fire. My friends and I decided to take a trip to the tent to chat over some cards while listening to the music from afar. We would go back up the fire later when it wasn't so hot.

We were finished with our card game and decided to go sit in for the next band. As we walked back up the path to the main entrance we could see the crowd of people surrounding the dancing bonfire and light filled stage. It was an amazing sight. The bonfire burning high behind the crowd and the loud rumble of cheers rising in to the air after the song that was just playing ended. It struck me suddenly that for the first time all year I am blessed with a clear mind, no worries and no stresses. I was embedded in pure relaxation and happiness. It was going to be a good weekend.

The main stage was lit up with brilliant blues and whites as one of the bands filled the cool night air with brilliant music. People danced and sang along as a crowd of children came running by yelling and flinging glow-sticks in the air. As the night went on I grew tired at what seemed like three in the morning and decided to head back to my tent to fall asleep to the music in the distance. I zipped up the front door to my tent and cuddled up under my four blankets. It gets cold up there at night when you're not up by the bonfire. Next thing I new, it was morning and the breakfast bell was ringing. "BREAKFAST IS SEARVED!!! ENJOY!!!."

Saturday consisted of much of the same as the night before. Good vibes, beautiful music and a large crowd of people gathering to celebrate one of the best times of the year. Family pets ran around free with no problems, and the smell of bonfire filled the air for all three days. This one weekend a year is something I look forward to every year. I have made an oath to myself to never miss a Harvest Moon Festival in my entire life. I will never forget the good times I have had at every one of them and will always be thankful for such an amazing festival.

On Sunday I headed out to go back home at around 1pm excited for next years celebration like it was tomorrow. When I arrived home I sat on my couch and thought about how comfortable it was, but not as comfortable as I was while a guest at the Harvest Moon Festival. See you next year I said to myself and turned on the TV to see if there was anything good on.