2012 – Year of the Dragon
Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Celebration
Sunday, January 29th, 2012
Chinese New Year Parade
The renowned Chinese New Year Parade will return in the Year of the Dragon on Sunday, January 29th, 2012. This signature event of Vancouver’s Chinatown will feature lion dances, cultural dance troupes, marching bands, martial arts performances and much more. Year after year, the Chinatown parade is an annual cultural extravaganza not to be missed.
The Year of the Dragon begins on Monday, January 23rd, 2012. Come see the sights, hear the sounds and join the festivities of Chinese New Year to celebrate the Year of the Dragon!
Parade Highlights
The Chinese New Year Parade celebrates the new year of the Chinese lunar calendar and is a fun-filled event for everyone to enjoy. As one of the three largest non-commercial annual parades in Vancouver, the Chinese New Year Parade features the largest assembly of traditional lion dance teams in Canada with dozens of colourful and energetic lions from the various local fraternal and martial arts organizations.
Other highlights include multicultural dance troupes representing the diverse segments of the Canadian cultural heritage, the Vancouver Police Department Motorcycle Drill Team, marching bands and various community groups. The parade is expected to have some sixty non-commercial entries, bringing over 3,000 participants from various community and cultural groups. It is not surprising that the parade draws over 50,000 spectators along the route each year plus many more seeing it through TV coverage.
Parade Schedule
The parade starts at 12:00 noon sharp on Sunday, January 29th, 2012, and takes two hours to complete.
Parade Route
Identical to last year, the parade route is about 1.2 Km long. It starts at the Millennium Gate on Pender Street (between Shanghai Alley and Taylor Street), proceeds east along Pender Street, turns south onto Gore Street, turns west onto Keefer Street and then disperses at Keefer and Columbia.
For more information, please visit: http://www.cbavancouver.ca
Image: eschipul
Check out the 2012 Vancouver Chinese New Year Parade – Year of the Dragon (video x photo gallery)
