Photo by Mike Watt
This weekend, LA’s Chinatown celebrates the year of the dog with the 119th Annual Golden Dragon Parade. The annual celebration will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17th, 2018. Join over 110,000 fellow Angelenos in the big celebration. Colorful floats, multiple marching bands, entertainers, decorated cars, and dancers will parade from Hill Street and Temple along Bernard, and back to Hill Street and Temple. MAP And if you like firecrackers, how about 500,000 firecrackers?
The parade ends at 3 p.m., but you can also enjoy The Chinese New Year Festival, taking place from 12 p.m. until 8 p.m. on the Central Plaza. Craft demos include Calligraphy, Candy Sculpture (My favorite!) Chinese Talisman, and Fruit and Vegetable Carving.
Scheduled performances include the East Wind Lion Dance Troupe, and a Shaolin Gongfu Demo. There will also be a roaming magician who completely entranced the children (and a few adults) last year. The Capuchin Monkey will be available for photo ops from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. Do not touch the monkey. Look at my profile picture if you need a cautionary tale. There will be live bands chosen by Kevin Bronson of Buzzbandla (I’m sorry, I just can’t say “curated.”) Click here for the complete schedule.
Our favorite stage is always the Culinary Stage, which starts happening at 4 p.m. The stage will be hosted by Felix Fang and Royce Burke. Food demos will be offered by chefs like TianTian Qiu, Royce Burke, and Jessica Wang.
You can also enjoy the Craft Beer Garden and food from a variety of stalls, as well as food trucks like Fluff Ice, the Kogi Truck, and the Lobsta Truck. The festival is easily accessed via Metro Gold Line rail from the Chinatown Station. The parade is free, but if you would like to sit in the Grandstands, you can purchase tickets here.
