Behold the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade
When:
February 20th, 5:15 pm
Starting Point:
Market & 2nd Street
The largest celebration of its kind and one of the Top Ten Parades in the World – as well as one of the few that take place at night – this Bay Area tradition is truly something to behold. Dating back to the 1860s, Chinese residents of San Francisco have adopted the American tradition of taking to the streets to celebrate their culture every Lunar New Year. The only thing that's changed since then is it's grown a bit, with recent estimates of over a million people watching the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco each year.
The Year of the Monkey
Promising to be bigger and better than ever before, expect beloved favorites like the 268 ft Golden Dragon with its 100+ martial artist puppeteers, intricate monkey-themed floats, wild costumes, glowing lanterns, hundreds of thousands of firecrackers, and the freshly crowned Miss Chinatown USA 2016.
About the Route & Where to Watch
Passing as close to Hotel Nikko as three blocks away, the procession starts at Market and 2nd Streets, heads toward Chinatown via Kearny, detours up Post to Powell, then back to Kearny on Sutter. It all ends at Columbus / Jackson. As for viewing, everywhere is great, but the crowds get more dense the closer you get to Chinatown, so you'll want to secure your spot by 4:30 pm at the latest. Unassigned bleacher seats are also available for $30, plus shipping.
Start the Day at Chinatown Communmity Street Fair
February 20th, 10 am-4:30 pm
A sort of pre-parade party, Chinatown fills up with 80+ vendors for shopping and authentic dining options as you soak in the culture of live music and dancing all day.