Here’s a face full of lion! Photo by Mike Watt.
This weekend Chinatown brings in the lunar new year with a bang. And that’s not just the firecrackers. On Saturday 2/1 from Noon-8pm and 2/2 Noon-5pm the joint will be jumping.
As always, the highlight of the festival will be the 115th Annual Golden Dragon Parade (presented by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles), on Saturday at 1pm. You can anticipate food trucks, monkeys, acrobats, face painting, and a personal favorite – candy sculpture.
The West Plaza will be hosting arts and crafts and historical workshops for the whole family. Acrobats and kung fu performances will liven up the main stage at Central Plaza. Heavily anticipated acts include the dragon and lion dances and the teapot juggling.
There will be three stages plus bands playing on Chung King Road. Check out the LA Weekly stage while enjoying craft beer. Hobart W. Fink will be playing the Buzz Bands stage Saturday at noon. Don’t miss the 643 North Spring Street stage from 4pm to 10pm on Saturday right across the street from Caveman Vintage Music featuring acts like Princess Pangolin (5pm) and the Volcanics (6pm).
Across Hill St. you will find the newest addition to Chinatown, Chung King Road, a row of contemporary art galleries such as Coagula Curatorial and Red Pipe. An additional stage of live music is being hosted there in conjunction with the Chinese New Year festival. We strongly recommend catching the Insect Surfers at 9pm.
Downtown Flea will be participating this year, with a host of vendors selling vintage and handmade products at 727 Hill.
If the trucks aren’t enough for you, we recommend Golden City, Hop Louie, Won Kok and – providing you can get a reservation – Starry Kitchen.
Saturday, February 1, 12 Noon- 11pm
Main Performance Stage
12:00pm Traditional Southern Style Dragon and Lion Dance (Performed by: East Wind Foundation For Youth)
1:00pm DARK (Parade)
3:00pm DJ Music
4:00pm Modern Lion Dance (Jason Nguyen) / Aerial and Dance Performances (Various) / Flexibility (Torque Method) / Rolla Bolla (Torque Method) / Cube (Torque Method) / Group Acro (Torque Method)
5:00pm Shaolin Martial Arts Performance
(Performed by: Master Xiaojun Wang and Jin Wu Kung Fu School)
5:30pm “Chinese Face-Changing (Weiqi Zong) / Acrobatic Balancing (Performed by: Shasha Luo) / Teapot Juggling (Weiqi Zhong)
6:00pm Modern Lion Dance (Jason Nguyen) / Aerial and Dance Performances (Various) / Flexibility (Torque Method) / Rolla Bolla (Torque Method) / Cube (Torque Method) / Group Acro (Torque Method)
7:00pm Shaolin Martial Arts Performance
(Performed by: Master Xiaojun Wang and Jin Wu Kung Fu School)
Live Entertainment Stage
Curated by Kevin Bronson, Buzz Bands LA
12 PM Hobart W. Fink
1 PM – 3 PM DARK – PARADE
3 PM A House for Lions
4 PM Raw Geronimo
5 PM Line & Circle
6 PM Parade of Lights
7 PM The Happy Hollows
LA Gourmet Food Trucks
Cambalache’s Gourmet
Crepe N Around
Gourmet Genie
Jogasaki Burrito
Tango Mango Truck
Tokyo Doggie Style
Trailer Park Truck
Vizzi
Yalla Truck
Craft Beer Garden
Curated by Eagle Rock Brewery
Eagle Rock Brewery – Manifesto
Eagle Rock Brewery – Revolution
El Segundo – White Dog IPA
El Segundo – Grand Hill IPA
Monkish Brewing Co. – Altar Boy
Monkish Brewing Co. – Rosa’s Hips
Downtown Flea Vendors
http://dtflea.com/
WEST PLAZA (943 N. Hill Street)
Cultural Artisans
Brush Painting by Nori Shirasu
Calligraphy by Guojian Cui
Candy Sculpture by Shinobu Ichiyanagi
Clay Portrait Sculpture by Keluo Xu
Dough Sculpture by Chris Lee
Face-Painting by Tai-Ling Wong
Roaming Magician by Minh Tran
Storytelling by Barbara Wong (4:30pm & 5:30pm)
Capuchin Monkey & Trainer(4pm-7pm)
Note: The monkey will approach you but please do not touch or pet the monkey.
Chung King Road Stage(3:30pm-11pm)
3:30 PM – DJ Halo Psytribe
5 PM – The Mike Vegas All Stars
6 PM – The Keith Walsh Experience
7 PM – Two Versus One
8 PM – Mean Dream
9 PM – Insect Surfers
Chung King Road art gallery openings/shows:
Coagula Curatorial: Alyson Souza, “The Speed of Dark”, Opening Reception (7-11pm)
Charlie James Gallery: Ramiro Gomez, “Domestic Scenes”
Red Pipe Gallery: “LA Recent Abstract Painting”
Fifth Floor Gallery: Paul W. Evans, “Sky Candy”
Family Workshop
Presented by Chinese American Museum
DOWNTOWN FLEA (727 N. Hill Street)
http://dtflea.com/
SPRING FESTIVAL ON SPRING (643 N. Spring Street)
Saturday ONLY 4pm – midnight
Confirmed Bands:
5PM Princess Pangolin
6PM The Volcanics
7PM Mr. Elevator & the Brain Hotel
8PM The Sound Reasons
9PM Capgun Holdups
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Sunday, February 2nd 12pm-5pm
CENTRAL PLAZA Entertainment Stage (943-951 N. Broadway)
Main Performance Stage
12:30pm Modern Lion Dance (Jason Nguyen) / Aerial and Dance Performances (Various) / Flexibility (Torque Method) / Rolla Bolla (Torque Method) / Cube (Torque Method) / Group Acro (Torque Method)
1:30pm Shaolin Martial Arts Performance
(Performed by: Master Xiaojun Wang and Jin Wu Kung Fu School)
2:00pm “Chinese Face-Changing (Weiqi Zong) / Acrobatic Balancing (Performed by: Shasha Luo) / Teapot Juggling (Weiqi Zhong)
2:30pm DJ Music
3:00pm Modern Lion Dance (Jason Nguyen) / Aerial and Dance Performances (Various) / Flexibility (Torque Method) / Rolla Bolla (Torque Method) / Cube (Torque Method) / Group Acro (Torque Method)
4:00pm Shaolin Martial Arts Performance
(Performed by: Master Xiaojun Wang and Jin Wu Kung Fu School)
Live Entertainment Stage
Curated by Kevin Bronson, Buzz Bands LA
12 PM Pretty Little Demons
1 PM Dreamland
2 PM Distant Cousins
3 PM Air Life
4 PM Act As If
LA Gourmet Food Trucks
Cambalache’s Gourmet
Gourmet Genie
Jogasaki Burrito
Slammin’ Sliders
Tango Mango Truck
Tokyo Doggie Style
Trailer Park Truck
Vizzi
Yalla Truck
Craft Beer Garden
Curated by Eagle Rock Brewery
Eagle Rock Brewery – Manifesto
Eagle Rock Brewery – Solidarity Black Mild
Smog City Brewing – Make Out Session Pale
Smog City Brewing – Amarilla Gorilla IPA
Angel City Brewing – Gold Line Pilsner
Angel City Brewing – Angeleno IPA
Downtown Flea Vendors
http://dtflea.com/
WEST PLAZA (943 N. Hill Street)
Cultural Artisans
Brush Painting by Nori Shirasu
Calligraphy by Guojian Cui
Candy Sculpture by Shinobu Ichiyanagi
Clay Portrait Sculpture by Keluo Xu
Face Painting by Cindy Yee
Fruit Carving by Thais Inc.
Storytelling by Barbara Wong (1:30pm & 3pm)
Capuchin Monkey & Trainer (1pm-4pm)
Note: The monkey will approach you but please do not touch or pet the monkey.
Family Workshop
Presented by USC Pacific Asia Museum
DOWNTOWN FLEA (727 N. Hill Street)
http://dtflea.com/
Chinese New Year Festival is produced by Chinatown Business Improvement District in collaboration with the following community partners: KCRW 89.9, Los Angeles Chinatown Corporation, Los Angeles Chinese Chamber of Commerce, ChungKing Plaza Association, LA Weekly, Metro, Downtown Flea, 643 North, Caveman Music and StarLine Tours.
Make it an adventure: Take the Metro Gold Line to the Chinatown Station (Alameda/Spring). Don’t even try to park.
Street Closures – Saturday Feb. 1st 11:00am – 4:00pm
Take the Metro to Chinatown! Starline Tours of Hollywood will be providing COMPLIMENTARY shuttle service from the Gold Line Station in Chinatown and Los Angeles Union Station into and around Los Angeles Chinatown!
Photo by Mike Watt
