Barbecue smoke trickled up into the overcast sky, while corn on the cob and fresh vegetables cooked on a grill.

Two brightly-dressed lions kissed and kicked lettuce into the audience for good fortune.

An array of white tents lined the middle of the street, allowing merchants to sell their products at bargain prices.

A main stage featured numerous entertaining acts, including local dance, music performances and a traditional Lion Dance.

San Francisco’s Autumn Moon Festival had begun and a community gathered to celebrate the occasion. A full and bright moon was to follow.

The Sunset District presented its fourth annual Autumn Moon Festival Saturday morning on Irving Street between 22nd and 25th avenue.

Traditionally, the festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar and is a time for reflection on the abundance of the summer harvest.

The holiday is widely celebrated in countries like China, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Some cultural experts say that this more than 1,000-year-old tradition is a vital part of the Asian culture and should be kept alive within Asian American communities also.

“If America is truly multiethnic and multicultural, then holidays and festivals from Asia should be equally acknowledged and celebrated as an American holiday or festival by all Americans,” said Lorraine Dong, SF State professor of Asian American studies.

Dong says she believes that this holiday is similar to the European-spawned holiday Halloween, in the sense that it is a tradition that came from another country and has been adopted by American culture.

According to Dong, the first Chinese immigrants celebrated the traditional holiday in simple ways by gathering together as families or clans.

Only when larger communities were established later on, did the celebration become what it is now.

The newly established festival in the Sunset District follows the festival that began in Chinatown, which started 18 years ago. It is a way for the residents who live in the Sunset District to celebrate without the commute downtown, said Larry Yee, a member of the festival committee.

“We wanted a way for residents here to participate in the celebration,” Yee said. “At this time, the moon is at its fullest and brightest, making it an ideal time to celebrate the abundance of the summer’s harvest. The Moon Festival is a time for family reunions.”

Student Andy Yeng, 19, said that he is well aware of the tradition and his Chinese heritage, but does not celebrate it with his family or a larger community.

“It is an excuse for my friends and I to party,” Yeng said. “I don’t know much about the tradition itself.”

Dong said she feels that it is an injustice if the tradition is not understood and recognized by the Asian American community, let alone other cultures.

“If Asian Americans cut off all their Asian ancestral [holidays/festivals] in the United States, then they are saying Asian culture has no place in American culture,” Dong said.

Yee said he wants to make sure that the tradition is carried on and that the residents of San Francisco have a chance to celebrate these festivities.

“We hope this annual celebration continues and grows stronger every year,” said Yee. “It is something everybody should experience.”