UFT Asian American Heritage Committee’s Moon Festival
PS 124 Manhattan teacher Rosemarie Young and Chapter Leader Melissa Wong delight in seeing how many beans and marbles they can grab with chopsticks in festival fun.
Over 100 UFT members and their families traveled to UFT headquarters on Sept. 26 to celebrate the Moon Festival with the UFT Asian American Heritage Committee. Attendees made their own crafts, enjoyed a diverse Asian menu provided by the UFT kitchen and participated in activities including calligraphy, puppet-making and Vietnamese gonggi, a game of hand-eye coordination similar to jacks. For Tinglei Huang, an International School at Union Square ENL teacher, the event’s family-friendly spirit was central to its appeal. “Teachers aren’t just teachers by themselves, they have their families, kids, responsibilities,” Huang said. Committee Chair Seung Lee said celebrations like the Moon Festival unite union members from a broad spectrum, with a shared vocation. Such solidarity echoes not only across the UFT, but to the next generation, said UFT Treasurer Victoria Lee: “We need kids to see that there is leadership in the Asian community. Bringing people together and seeing it really helps.”
