Lunar New Year Events & Chinatown Parade
byThe Year of the Dragon is almost here and there are community celebrations, workshops, the parade in Chinatown, and events all around Vancouver to ring in the Lunar New Year.
Chinatown Spring Festival Parade
The Chinatown Spring Festival Parade is happening Sunday, February 11th. Starting out at the Millennium Gate (near 88 Pender St) at 11:00am the parade will feature various dance troupes, community groups, and the largest assembly of lion dance teams in Canada.
The 1.3 km route starts at the Millennium Gate on Pender Street (between Shanghai Alley and Taylor Street), proceeds east along Pender Street, turns south onto Gore Street, turns west onto Keefer Street and then ends on Keefer at Abbott.
Marking the 50th anniversary of the Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown, Vancouver Chinatown Business Improvement Association (VCBIA) expects the event to draw over 100,000 visitors into the neighbourhood to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the community.
Attractions
Lunar New Year at Chinese Canadian Museum: The Chinese Canadian Museum is celebrating its first Lunar New Year February 10-11 with special tea tastings, craft workshops, lion dances, added guided tours, and Chinese calligraphy demonstrations.
The Lantern City Lunar New Year in Vancouver: Collaborating with Eastside Arts Society, Indigenous artists, Asian Canadian artists, and more, The Lantern City installations for the Lunar New Year return to four sites around Vancouver in February.
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden: During and after the parade on Sunday, February 11, enjoy Lunar New Year performances, fortune-telling, cultural street cuisines and more to begin a prosperous new year from 12:00pm to 5:00pm. Tickets are available online. Also at the garden, the Lunar New Year Let It Glow! Light Engraving Workshop is February 10th from 10:30am to 12:30pm. Tickets for that are also available online.
Celebrate Lunar New Year with a free family friendly event hosted by the Chinese Village Club at the Museum of Surrey on February 24th.
In the West End neighbourhood enjoy public art displays and an installation at Robson & Cardero, plus a lion dance ceremony at the Robson Public Market on February 10th at 3:30pm.
The Vancouver Chinatown Foundation presents Taste of Chinatown. The three-day festival will run from February 9 to 11 featuring a specialty food pop-up in the Chinatown Storytelling Centre, the Lunar New Year Parade, glowing lights and lanterns, walking tours, and a passport program that offers exciting prize draws, all throughout the 16 blocks surrounding Vancouver’s Chinatown.
Dragon Boat BC is hosting an open house of their new Chinatown Hub on February 11th.
Lunar New Year market at UBC Botanical Garden: The market, February 3-4, has expanded to include 40 vendors and four food trucks. Guests can expect family-friendly crafts workshops, as well as a lion dance and kung fu performances.
MONOVA (Museum & Archives of North Vancouver): On February 10th, explore traditional New Year customs, try writing couplets, and learn about dragon imagery throughout history while drawing your own dragon. Storytelling, snacks, and daikon cake tasting are also available throughout the day.
Oakridge Park is inviting the community to celebrate the Year of the Dragon at the Oakridge Park Lunar New Year Celebration at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. Now in its sixth year, the festivities are happening until February 25, 2024 with daily programming from 11:00am to 6:00pm. This will include family-focused activities such as children’s ballet classes in collaboration with the award-winning Goh Ballet Academy, Lunar New Year family portraits, floral arrangement workshops, live musical performances and more.
Shopping Centres
Guests in Metro Vancouver at CF Richmond Centre and CF Pacific Centre can immerse themselves in vibrant displays, providing picturesque backdrops for memorable moments. Enjoy festive live music featuring traditional Chinese instruments, paying homage to the Year of the Dragon, the zodiac sign for 2024.
Metropolis at Metrotown will host festivities February 9-24. BC’s largest shopping centre will usher in the Year of the Dragon with a series of performances, workshops, and traditional displays.
Lansdowne Centre hosts a LEGO display, artisan market, lions dances, family portrait session and more from February 3-25.
