Immersive Cultural Storytelling:
Honouring East and Southeast Asian Creatives
This September, the UK celebrates the fifth annual East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) Heritage Month, a grassroots initiative launched in 2021 to honour the rich cultures and contributions of ESEA communities.
As part of the celebration, we are excited to announce the launch of The Moon Fest Trail Pop-Up Series, an immersive cultural storytelling experience spotlighting East and Southeast Asian creatives whose visual storytelling sparks imagination and helps children see their worlds reflected in picture books and every page they read.
Integrated with audio storytelling as you wander through the trail, themes celebrating family, love, and belonging are brought to life, feeling connected – where culture is felt. Not just seen.
Fish Tales & Rhymes is proud to join hands with a group of talented artists whose published work beautifully captures the spirit of ESEA Heritage Month and the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival taking place on 6th October.
What is the
Moon Fest Trail?
The Moon Fest Trail invites all to explore the rich and heartfelt cultural moments of ESEA communities through a sensory and immersive experience.
Inspired by China’s culturally iconic Li Bai’s timeless poem “Quiet Night Thoughts,” the Moon Fest Trail brings together ancient poetry with contemporary art created by ESEA creatives to explore themes of being homesick, reflection, and family love, over a moonlit night.
Featured Photo: A Painting of Li Bai and his Poetry from Gu Lang Yu Museum, Xiamen, Fujian. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Quiet Night Thoughts
jìng yè sī
靜夜思
A Beloved Poem in Festive Nursery Rhymes in Chinese:
From the bilingual music toy book series
Illustration by Lisa He, Vocals by Elim Hung, Translation Adaptation by Angelina Wong-Jardin
Project Vision
The Moon Fest Trail is a contemplative yet immersive celebration for both ESEA Heritage Month and the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.
The idea is to harness the powers of immersive storytelling so that deeper cultural connections can be made. We hope to empower communities to embrace their heritage and create meaningful stories of their own.
Together, we can spark an intergenerational connection, preserving cultural moments that can be shared, understood, and enjoyed by all.
Meet The Artists
Tomoko Ngai
The Golden Mango Tree by Karen Li
Tomoko is a multi-award-winning artist based in Norwich. Born and raised in Japan, she illustrated The Golden Mango Tree, written by Karen Li, co-founder of Branching Out Books. The story follows a little girl who reflects on a family’s journey starting in a fishing village in China and continues across continents as they settle into a new life far from home. Tomoko's contemplative landscapes echo the story's themes of migration, hope and reflection.
Kun Liang
Happy Mooncake Festival, Elena! by Ding Li Stevens
Kun Liang, who also goes by Sophie Liang, captures the joy of Chinese family traditions. Happy Mooncake Festival, Elena! is a bilingual book in both Chinese and English. Contemplating the story, Sophie's attention to cultural detail in her drawings bring a wave of nostalgia for adults while sparking curiosity in children.
Jason Chuang
The Moon Rabbit by Eva Wong Nava
Jason is an award-winning illustrator from Taiwan, now based in the UK. He illustrated The Moon Rabbit, written by Eva Wong-Nava, an award-winning author of Singaporean and Malaysian heritage whose stories draw from her love of art growing up in Southeast Asia. Jason's work blend East Asian tradition with surrealism. His illustrations appear in books from Walker Books, HarperCollins, Bloomsbury and SelfMadeHero.
Eliza Chen
Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival by Eugenia Chu
Eliza is Taiwanese-American and has illustrated several culturally rich children’s books in collaboration with author Eugenia Chu. Her work combines warmth in educational storytelling. Notable books include the collection of Eugenia's educational resource books on Chinese festivals. These books have become incredibly valuable to educators looking for guidance and ideas to celebrate and raise awareness about Chinese culture to wider communities.
Sienna Youngsun Kim
A Love As Full As The Moon by Lucy Tandon Copp
Sienna is a South Korean illustrator and designer based in Los Angeles, US. Award-winning, she brings warmth and wander to her work across the portfolio of children’s picture books she’s worked on over the years. A Love as Full as the Moon is both Lucy and Sienna's debut book recently released. While Lucy reflects on her childhood of mixed heritage, Sienna's art draws from personal memories, reflecting an expressive style that celebrates everyday joy and cultural storytelling.
Lisa He
Festive Nursery Rhymes in Mandarin Series by Angelina Wong-Jardin
Lisa, the artist behind the warm and playful illustrations of Fish Tales & Rhymes’ collection of Nursery Rhymes in Mandarin Chinese. Born in Argentina, raised in London with Chinese heritage, she studied Fine Arts at Oxford, where fond memories of Asian snacks helped shape the work seen through Fish Tale's bilingual music sound book series. Created by founder Angelina Wong-Jardin, her work supports families especially those growing up between cultures, to experience Chinese heritage through immersion in everyday moments.
Catch Our Pop-ups Here
24
SEPT
Sky Business Park
Egham, Surrey UK
11 am - 5 pm
28
SEPT
ESEA Cambridge
Eddington, UK
10:15 am - 4 pm
12
OCT
MoonFest London
London, UK
1 pm - 5 pm
16
OCT
Golden Oldies, Timeless Strings: Violin and Guqin Revisited
The Great Hall, Bishopsgate Institute1 6:30 PM – 8:45 PM
Stop by.
Share your story!
If you happen to see our Moon Trail Fest pop-ups, come and say hello. As a brand that thrives on community and connection, we love to meet everybody from everywhere.
Nothing makes us happier than listening to your journeys of passing on cultural heritage to the next generation.
A special thanks to our publishing partners, authors and friends from the ESEA community for recognizing the heart of this project, purpose and positive social impact, and for helping to bring this project to life.
A special thanks to our community partners
The Moon Fest Trail is
proudly brought to you by
