Celebrate Chinese New Year In The Bay Area
Chinese New Year (credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Welcome to the year of the Rooster: 2017. According to the Chinese Zodiac, the year of the Rooster begins February 3, 2016 and ends January 27, 2018. The Monkey, the tenth sign in the Chinese Zodiac, symbolizes loyalty and punctual and people born during a Rooster year are considered ambitious, friendly and watchful. Celebrate the New Year at cultural events happening around the San Francisco Bay Area.
Chinese New Year Festival & Parade
Starts at intersection of 2nd and Market Sts.
San Francisco, CA 94105
www.chineseparade.com
Date: Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m.
Grab your friends and head to the city to be a part of the Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Festival & Parade. A San Francisco tradition from just after the Gold Rush, this is one of the largest Chinese New Year celebrations in the world and one of the few existing nighttime illuminated parades in the country. One thing is certain: nowhere in the world will you see a lunar New Year parade with more stunning floats and costumes. More than 100 units will participate, plus parading lions, ubiquitous firecrackers and the newly crowned Miss Chinatown. The unanimous crowd-pleasing favorite is the 268-foot Golden Dragon ("Gum Lung"). The dragon is so impressively large that it takes "over 100 men and women from a martial arts group to carry it through the San Francisco streets." Find information on where to purchase tickets for parade route bleacher seating and the Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Pageant and Ball, plus complete festival details and schedule at the parade website. See the parade route here.
(credit: calacademy.org)Lunar New Year NightLife
California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Drive
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 379-8000
www.calacademy.org
Date: Feb. 2 at 6pm - 10pm
Kick off the Lunar New Year at NightLife at the California Academy of Sciences inside Golden Gate Park. Celebrate the "Year of the Rooster" with martial arts performances, Chinese cooking demonstrations, Asian arts & crafts, and learning about Chinese traditions. Dj Tanoa "Samoa Boy" will supply the soundtrack to the evening. Learn more at calacademy.org.
Lunar New Year 2017
San Francisco Zoo
1 Zoo Road
San Francisco, CA 94132
(415) 753-7080
www.sfzoo.org
Dates: January 28 & 29 and February 4 & 5
Commemorate 2017, the Year of The Rooster for two fun-filled weekends at the San Francisco Zoo. Enjoy Chinese Lion and folk dance performances, go on a Zodiac Scavenger Hunt around the zoo, and visit "Mac" SF Zoo's offical New Year rooster.
