Golden Dragon Parade
823 N. Hill Street, First Floor, Los Angeles
The Lunar New Year is the most celebrated festivity for approximately 1.5 million Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean people in Southern California. It is celebrated with parades like the Golden Dragon Parade, festivals, and, most importantly, family gatherings. It is also a time when ancestors are deeply remembered, and families give thanks for their blessings. Red Packets of money (“Hung Bao” or “Lai See”) and firecrackers add excitement to the Chinese New Year Celebration.
The Annual Golden Dragon Parade and Festival enjoys over 110,000 attendance annually, lining the parade route and others viewing the telecast. This beautiful, unique, and colorful celebration along North Broadway in Chinatown has become a premier cultural event in the Asian-American community in Southern California.
Celebrating over a hundred years of tradition, the Los Angeles Chinese Chamber of Commerce included the Golden Dragon Parade in the Chinese New Year celebrations beginning mid the 1980s. Since then, it has expanded to include multiple marching bands, various dignitaries, almost two dozen floats, government officials, local business leaders, entertainers, and cultural groups. The parade is a rich and diverse experience for everyone to enjoy and emphasizes Chinese Culture and ethnic diversity.
This parade remains the longest-running Lunar New Year, even outside China. It initially started in the late 1800s to help bridge racial divides and invoke better understanding for the Chinese immigrants who came to LA as a government response. Today, the Golden Dragon Parade sees thousands of people who attend and that watch from home. Colorful costumes, martial arts performances, lion dances, and educational programs can be expected from this event. This event also features celebrities, government dignitaries, officials, high school bands, and other performers.
Join thousands of revelers lining the parade route as giant dragon twists and lion dancers twist, twirl, and spin every February. It’s the Golden Dragon Parade honor to be the Grand Marhsall’s parade; a title first bestowed on the martial artist and actor Bruce Lee in the 1970s. Since then, other Grand Marshalls have included Keye Luke and David Carradine from the television series Kung Fu, Garret Want from Star Trek Voyager, and Dr. Haing S. Ngor from The Killing Fields film.
Suppose you’re not able to attend the Golden Dragon Parade. In that case, you can celebrate virtually through Facebook Like or head to the San Gabriel Valley for good luck cookies, fa gao (fortune cakes), and other traditional food specially made for the occasion. The USC Pacific Asia Museum also offers fun programs to commemorate the new year. As for more kid-friendly fun, Universal Studios Hollywood celebrates with live performances and appearances of Kung Fu Panda’s characters, Minions dressed in traditional Chinese garb, and Tigress, mandarin-speaking Megatron.