Embracing Culture and Community: 'Love at Mid-Autumn' Campaign Raises $60,000 to Support Children with Special Needs
Written BY FÊTE CHINOISE EDITORIAL TEAM
Photography BY ERNESTO DI STEFANO FOR GEORGE PIMENTEL PHOTOGRAPHY
With the backdrop of fall's golden hues, Fête Chinoise celebrated the success of its yearly ‘Love at Mid-Autumn’ campaign at Harry Rosen Yorkdale on October 12th. This heartfelt campaign, tied to the Mid-Autumn festival, was a smashing success. Each year, Fête Chinoise presents this campaign as a testament to its mission of moving culture forward and celebrating the rich tapestry of Chinese-Canadian culture, all while giving back to the community.
This year's campaign made big breakthroughs including a new campaign record for the net donation, an impressive $60,000 donated to the charity. This year, the funds went to support children with special needs at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, an essential place that provides specialized care and research for children with disabilities and complex medical conditions. The campaign didn't just break records, it also furthered the dialogue about special needs in the Chinese-Canadian community.
Let’s take a peek at what happened at the event.
In her opening remarks, Deborah Lau-Yu, Editor-in-Chief of Fête Chinoise Magazine, and founder and co-chair of the campaign, emphasized our unwavering dedication to moving culture forward. "Year after year, we strive for breakthroughs in our design and storytelling, whether it's an event or a product like this year's gift set that celebrates heritage and traditions, and nourishes the community. Mid-autumn represents a time of togetherness, family, and the harvest. The tin design invoked nostalgia for home, which is especially heartfelt for diaspora families."
This year's mooncake set featured a unique approach to the annual collector's edition tin design. It was created by PALETTERA, the parent company of Fête Chinoise, inspired by Chinoiserie. This design style artfully combines Chinese cultural elements with Western aesthetics, creating a beautiful fusion. This blending of cultures, with roots in Europe the 17th to 19th centuries, continues to inspire contemporary interior design and decor. This collective piece of cultural memory is now collected by over 1000 families in their homes — how neat is that!
The heart-shaped mooncakes in the tin are more than just sweets; they symbolize a love for culture and community. We created the heart-shaped mooncakes in collaboration with Saint Germain and it took testing and development to perfect the shape, density and ingredients — these are the only heart-shaped mooncakes in the world as far as we know, and it makes the perfect conversation starter for young kids learning about tradition. On the top of the mooncake, this year’s peony design was widely loved, featuring a larger flower and a small bud that represents the next generation.
As we celebrate the extraordinary success of the 2023 'Love at Mid-Autumn' campaign, Fête Chinoise extends an enthusiastic invitation to join us on our mission to create high quality space for culture.