Lunar New Year Events Taking Place In San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Dragons will be dancing, paraders will be parading and onlookers will be enjoying a variety of events today and tomorrow in San Francisco celebrating the Lunar New Year. The Lunar New Year started Feb. 16 and this year is the Year of the Dog. The Miss Chinatown USA Pageant was held last night and the biggest San Francisco event, the Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade, is scheduled to take place Saturday.

On Lok Lifeways held a Lunar New Year celebration for seniors with traditional lion and dragon dances at the Gee Pace Center on Bush Street this morning. The San Francisco Police Department's lion dance team performed. The team was started in 1988 as an opportunity for community relations. Heather Fong, a former San Francisco police chief, is an alumni of that dance troupe.

At noon, San Francisco Interim Mayor Mark Farrell will join city officials at the Coalition of Asian American Government Employees' Lunar New Year celebration luncheon at New Asia Restaurant on Pacific Avenue.
On Saturday, the San Francisco Symphony will hold a Lunar New Year concert at 3 p.m. at Davies Symphony Hall as well as a post-concert dinner.

The family event draws on ancient and contemporary Asian traditions. The culminating event will be the Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade Saturday, named one of the top ten parades in the world by the
International Festivals & Events Association. With floats, costumes, lions, firecrackers and the newly crowned
Miss Chinatown USA, the parade begins at 5:15 p.m. at Second and Market Streets.

By Bay City News

Stock photo by: Sombat Muycheen via Shutterstock.com