How the moon came to be made of cheese is up for debate, but the whimsical tall tale has shown some staying power throughout the ages.
Of course, cheese isn't the only foodstuff to be associated with our planet's majestic lunar satellite. Mooncakes are also a popular traditional edible that are enjoyed, in China and several parts of the world, during the fall, when people gather to celebrate harvest and the Mid-Autumn Festival.
And mooncakes are on the menu, while they last, at the USC Pacific Asia Museum's Harvest Moon Festival. The festivities coincide with the full moon, a supermoon and a blood moon, on Sunday, Sept. 27, which will also see a total lunar eclipse.
So count on the afternoon party stretching into early evening, and twilight, where the moon will be at its beautiful round brightness, quite the sight to see while one snacks upon a mooncake.
Other lovely happenings are on the schedule throughout the late afternoon, from the making of lanterns and fans to a screening of "The Tale of Princess Kaguya" (a Japanese flick with English subtitles).
Dance, storytelling, and museum tours complement the mooncake-eating and lantern-building.
As far as looking up at our nearest neighbor goes on one of its big, most-ballyhooed nights of the year? Sidewalk astronomers will be outside the institution, ready to talk craters and phases and all matters of the moon.
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The cost? Just pay museum admission and you are ready to moon it up, majorly.
And if you want a tasty, dough-nice symbol of the night, the mooncake tasting starts up at 6 o'clock. Best arrive early, because, like the heavenly body it is named for, the mooncakes, too, shall go away after awhile.
Of course, the moon goes away come the daytime but has a knack for returning, on schedule, rather predictably, so no worries there. Likewise, even if mooncakes go away, as they're eaten by mooncake mavens, they always return the following fall.
