The Minnesota China Friendship Garden Society on Saturday will host events to mark a holiday celebrated around the world. The Twin Cities Mid-Autumn Festival showcases different Asian American cultures in the community.

In China, the festival is is a time for people to gather, offer thanks for the harvest, and pray for longevity and good fortune. The holiday — Oct. 6 this year — falls on the day of a full moon. The festival is also celebrated in other parts of Asia such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore.

The event is free and runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the China Friendship Garden “Liu Ming Yuan” in Phalen Regional Park.

The festival starts with Voices in the Light Poetry and open mic readings as well as and a 5K run at 11 a.m. ​The festival also will feature more than 30 cultural information booths and more than six hours of traditional performances and dances from Hmong, Chinese, Vietnamese, Dakota tribe performers and more. There also will be food and moon cakes tastings. More information is available at mnchinagarden.org.

According to Romi Slowaik, a board member of the Minnesota China Friendship Garden Society, the festival is meant to be a get-together for friends and family.

​“It’s a time for family get-togethers and remembering people all over the world who are part of your family. As you look at the shadow of the full moon, you think that your family members on the other side of the world are looking at that,” Slowaik said.

​Christina Morrison, the board director of the Minnesota China Friendship Garden and president of the Association of Sino-American Neocultural Exchange, said the festival is a way to inform people about the Chinese American garden at the center.

The garden was established in 1988 under the leadership of Mayor George Latimer and the Minnesota China Friendship group after Latimer helped build a relationship with St. Paul’s sister city, Chagsha.

Morrison said she hopes when people come to the festival, that they learn more about gardens and come to appreciate the family aspect of the holiday.

“(The) two main goals are promoting this garden and (getting) to know more about this festival,” Morrison said. “By attending this festival, we’re celebrating this family reunion holiday with all the different ethnic groups in the Twin Cities.”

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By LINLEY SANDERS and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump got a significant amount of blame during the last partial government shutdown, which took place toward the end of his first term after he forced a shutdown over border wall funding — but with Democrats embracing the shutdown fight this time, the outcome could be very different.

A New York Times/Siena poll conducted last week, prior to the shutdown, shows that most registered voters did not want Democrats to shut down the government if their demands were not met, although both parties could end up receiving some blame for the resulting closure.

Here is what AP-NORC polling showed about the 2019 shutdown, and what recent polling suggests about how voters could react as the current shutdown unfolds.

Many blamed Trump for the last partial government shutdown

The last government shutdown took place in late 2018 and early 2019, after Trump demanded money for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, refused to negotiate unless Trump allowed the government to reopen.

In an AP-NORC poll conducted during that shutdown, about 7 in 10 Americans said Donald Trump had “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility for the partial shutdown. About 6 in 10 said that about Republicans in Congress, and roughly half said that about Democrats in Congress.

It was seen as a significant problem at the time, as airport delays and missed paychecks for federal workers brought urgency to efforts to resolve the standoff. About two-thirds of U.S. adults said the partial government shutdown was “a major problem for the country.” Democrats were more likely than Republicans to see it as a large issue.

Most didn’t want Democrats to force a shutdown this time

In the Times/Siena poll, about two-thirds of registered voters said the Democrats should not shut down the government, even if their demands were not met.

Democrats in Congress had demanded an extension to expiring health care benefits in order to pass the bill to extend government funding. Republicans in Congress had refused, but offered a stopgap bill to keep the government open for several weeks, which Democrats rejected.

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Registered Democrats may have been more eager than voters overall to see their party’s leadership force a shutdown: 47% said the Democrats should refuse to fund the government if their demands were not met. The move was less popular among independents and Republicans. About 9 in 10 Republicans and roughly 6 in 10 independents said Democrats should not shut down the government, even if their demands were not met.

But depending on what happens next, there could be plenty of blame to go around.

About one-quarter of registered voters in the Times/Siena poll — which was conducted prior to the shutdown — said they would blame Trump and the Republicans in Congress if a shutdown happened, while about 2 in 10 said they would place blame on congressional Democrats. About one-third said they’d blame both sides equally.

What Americans think of Congress

Congress had few fans with the American public, even before the shutdown.

It’s hard to find an American who has “a great deal” of confidence in the way Congress is being run, according to AP-NORC polling. Only 6% said they had a high level of confidence in the people running Congress in polling from this summer. About half had “only some” and 44% had hardly any confidence in how Congress was being run.

Confidence tends to be low among Democrats and Republicans, regardless of which party is in power. About 1 in 10 Republicans had “a great deal” of confidence in Congress, compared to 2% of Democrats.

St. Paul’s Highland District Council and other community groups are hosting a forum on Monday where voters can ask candidates running for mayor questions.

The forum is hosted by the district council, FairVote Minnesota, Danger Boat Productions, and others.

It will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in St. Paul. Those interested can RSVP and send in questions at the Fair Vote MN website or Rank Your Vote website.

The first part will be a question and answer period.

The forum will feature Mayor Melvin Carter, Yan Chen, Adam Dullinger, State Rep. Kaohly Her and Mike Hilborn. Carter is running for his third term as mayor.

After the forum, residents can meet face to face with the candidates.

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Owamni, the award-winning native restaurant from chef Sean Sherman, will relocate just down the river to the restaurant space on the main floor of the Guthrie Theater in the spring of 2026.

The restaurant, part of the nonprofit group North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems, will double in size by moving out of its original spot in the Water Works Pavilion.

“We are so grateful to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and Water Works Pavilion for giving Owamni our solid start — we outgrew our original location almost from the moment we opened,” Sherman said in a news release. “The Guthrie space gives us the opportunity to share Indigenous cuisine with more diners, and we can’t wait to bring it to life.”

Owamni opened in 2021 to immediate acclaim, and with that came difficulty scoring a reservation. The restaurant focuses on ingredients native to our land, avoiding commodities introduced by colonizers such as wheat flour, dairy and sugar. The James Beard Foundation named it the Best New Restaurant in 2022, cementing its importance — and popularity.

The original location was chosen for its proximity to the river, something that will remain with its new spot, which has housed many excellent restaurants over the years. The last restaurant to occupy the space, Sea Change, shut down during the pandemic and never reopened.

“Owamni means ‘falling water’ in the Dakota language, and we’re so glad to remain close to St. Anthony Falls, on the shores of the Mississippi, which is a source of great significance to the Dakota people,” Sherman said.

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