Always a blast every year, great way to celebrate with the community. I would highly recommend, bring your family members, a chair, buy some poppers a enjoy the parade read more

Golden Dragon Parade - Festivals Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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I have been attending the Parade in Chinatown for the New Years for years, on and off. It was fun to finally go again this year after the pandemic, especially since everyone is celebrating the Year of the Dragon. You can take the subway and walk for less than a minute to Broadway where it's held yearly. It usually starts at 1 pm (so arrive earlier, bring a chair if you need to) and lasts for about 2 hours. Usually it is slow to start, and it has gaps here and there, but it is fun, colorful, I love the dragons and the floats. Everyone is LA is represented and it is a fun, inclusive event. Bring comfy shoes, water, snacks, but they have stores around and food trucks. The confetti-s are fun, it is an event for everyone, no matter the age. I always enjoy it and like to linger after that in Chinatown, do some shopping and enjoy a meal or some snacks from a local bakery. Nice tradition, happy that is back! read more

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Prelude features The Police Force demonstrating impressive dragon-faced motorbike formation skills to the delight of the crowd. Segue way to the sounds of explosive drums, magnificent silken ridged banners adorned with ancient characters begin the procession like entering the elegant gates of cultural hissstory. Celebratory pops of confetti & streamers resonate throughout. The Year of The Snake symbolizes the ecdysis of rebirth & evolution, the serpent shedding skin in a process of transformation. Wushu & Kung Fu demonstrations feature spear, bo staff, nunchaku, & sword skills, along with detected Dragon & Snake style Tao Lu 'kata'! Dragon, Snake, Lion dances permeate the streets, complete with infernal eyes flashing and hissing, spitting fumes. By the by, an unexpected, though welcomed lovely latin troupe of alluring dancers in skintight fiery costumes writhed along the path, and a bevy of Miss Chinatown pageant beauties waved gracefully along. There were also a couple of culturally indigenous celebrities, politicians, local business representatives, and the rambunctious mayor greeting several participants, even jumping up on a float at one point. A mass of firecrackers conclude the event in eruptive aplomb! Be sure to wear red, a serpentine, dragon pendant, a chosen pitchfork / spear Sceptor, and enjoy Chinese cuisine, inclusive of eur/asian pulchritude! Hail The Dragon! Hail the Snake! Hail Yen-Lo-Wang! read more

This is our second year attending the Chinese New Year Parade, and it wont be our last. Like any other parade I'd recommend that you get there early and plan ahead. Yelp is a great source for food and things to do in the area. If you want char siu bao, jian dui (sesame balls), or rice cake we like to go to Long's Family Bakery. You should take public transit or get dropped off because they shut down roads and traffic/parking is impossible. It's great to see a diverse community come together to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The parade features princesses on floats, lion dances, marching bands, motorcycle cops doing tricks, and much more. At the very end they pop firecrackers (it is very loud for those who have sensitive ears). After the parade the festivities continue at the Central Plaza located at 943 N Broadway. This year they had food trucks, Shaolin Kung Fu, and Chinese acrobats. If you live in LA and haven't been to this free event, I highly recommend that you check it out. See you all next year! read more

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The year of the rabbit, 2011. A cultural parade marches through Chinatown Los Angeles to usher in the new year. Food stands are set up. Parking costs ten times more than the norm in the area. Learn how to take the metro friends! It is great! Vince V. (a fellow Latin yelper) and I parked in Highland Park and rode the metro Gold line to the Chinatown station. *Near the heart of the parade. The Gold line runs from Pasadena/Sierra Madre Villa station to East LA. The Gold line connects via Union station to all of the other metro lines and a large number of city buses. Chinatown is not a far walk from Union Station in downtown LA. The streets of Chinatown are crowded on any weekend. This weekend, it was especially crowded. Families line the streets in anticipation of the parade. Many, like me, are armed with cameras. The parade began with city officials waving to the crowd from slow motion convertible cars trying to secure the vote for the next election. Clubs and local high schools marched with brass bands waving signs and banners. Our brothers and sisters serving active duty in the armed forces, did not need a band or banner to win the applause of the entire crowd watching. Neither did the groups rallying for equal opportunities. Like gay marriage and equal rights etc. Paper dragons floated by in pieces held by the tandem effort of dozens of friends. The culture, and festive spirit was not lost on me just because the city officials and local companies try to do their best to capitalize on the opportunity to market to us. Fathers hold small fries on shoulders so that small eyes can get a better view. Old friends share umbrellas to gain shelter from the sun. Me and Vince are applauding the school pride, the military pride, the civic pride, the cultural pride, the gay pride and the hard work and efforts of everyone who was part of the parade.:-) I highly recommend taking the metro to this event next year. Bring: sunblock, an umbrella and a folding chair. Chances are that it will be sunny. Happy new year rabbit! I'll see you here next year.:-) read more

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My family and I hadn't been to this event in maybe 5 years? We forgot how much fun it is! What a wonderfully diverse city we have. So good to be reminded of that. Fun Fact: this year's was the 120th annual. My math puts the first one in 1899. That's, like, Pre-Historic for Los Angeles! read more

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The Parade was not what I expected from A Chinese New Year Celebration.... Worst thing was there were barely any vendors selling drinks or snacks in or around the parade... It wasn't till after the Parade that we were able to find food... Everything was bunched up around Hop Louie's in that Market square so things got a little crazy I mean couple thousand people in attendance and there was only 4 food trucks not cool. Seemed like a lot of poor preparation on part of the Chamber of Commerce... I will say that the people that had to walk with the Dragons did a Great Job especially in the heat... If it weren't for visitors purchasing and using the pop fireworks it would have been less fun for the children present... I thought that during parades there should be at least things for kids like small candies to be thrown from the cars or small toys heck even business flyers "None of that present" You figure with a Chinese Celebration that there were would also be tons of cool things to purchase but again there wasn't ... Crazy thing is the only people that made out with this Parade were the Parking Lot Owners @ $10-$30 per car they cashed in "Big Time"!!! I just hope that next year is a whole lot better.... read more

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Every year we look forward to watching this Chinese New Year parade. Each year that we have been to this parade, we had sunny warm weather. Well this year, the skies were cloudy but luckily it did not rain. It was a little on the cool side, but we still had an enjoyable time. The parade itself is 120 years old with many different entries such as floats with beauty queens on them, lion dances, dragon dances, matching bands from different high schools, police motorcycles, firetrucks and expensive cars with local area politicians and TV personalities. The parade itself travels along Hill Street from Temple Street then turn right to N. Broadway and back onto Caesar Chavez. It's about 1.5 hours long. The best place to watch is somewhere on N. Broadway and Caesar Chavez because this where the grand stand is. It's best to go there early to get a good spot, as the parade route fills up fast and is about 4 to 5 people deep in some areas. At the end of this route, they put on a massive firecracker display with lions dancing around the exploding firecrackers. If you decide to watch the firecrackers, beware it's very loud. It's a good idea to have earplugs. I also recommend a face mask, as the massive smoke and fragments from the firecrackers might hit you directly on your face, depending on which way the wind is blowing. As for parking, it is extremely difficult to find a free parking in the neighbourhood. I usually pay $8 and park underneath the MTA building which is adjacent to the Union Station. The walk from there to the parade area is approximately 15 minute. For those who have never been to this Chinese New Year parade, I would recommend you go experience this long standing celebration of Chinese New Year and take in all the festivities. read more

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Dragons, Dancing Lions, Confetti cannons, and Neon. Always fun at this lunar parade. Less crowded than Rose Parade. 1pm Golden Dragon Parade. Floats, marching band, community groups. 3pm 2k Firecrackers at Dragon Gate 4pm-8pm LAWeekly concerts at Plaza Square read more

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Peoples take the METRO, I cannot stress this enough!!! There is limited parking in Los Angeles as is. x_X This parade really shows off Angelino's appreciation for diverse culture. There is a lot of history in Chinatown and it doesn't just belong to Chinese Americans and this parade accurately reflects that. You have to be Asian to enjoy the parade. =) Since I am actually part of a Traditional Lion Dance Group http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-immortals-awaken-lion-club-monterey-park that participates in the parade every year, the Golden Dragon Parade is a personal highlight. While the parade starts around 1pm every year, I would already be in Chinatown early morning to help set up. This parade is nice because it's not as crazy long as the Tournament of Roses Parade, but is just as much exciting things to take pictures of. Just like the Tournament of Roses, there is a Chinatown Court of Queen and Princesses. You can't miss that float, just look for all the pretty ladies! ;) I myself enjoy looking out for my old high school marching band and the insane amount of firecrackers. If you happen to be in town check out the parade and cheer me on! It's hard to miss my group with our large dragon. OK enough with the Yelp plug, I just hope with every passing year we put on an even better show than last. =D It gets most crowded on N. Broadway, but that makes sense since that is where the judging/announcing tents are. If you don't really care and just want to see the parade with out feeling too crowded and claustrophobic then be on N. Hill St. and W. Cesar E. Chavez Ave. http://www.lagoldendragonparade.com/Maps.html Also bring CASH, because many places in Chinatown are cash only. ********* http://www.toonaripost.com/2011/12/us-news/annual-golden-dragon-parade-in-la%E2%80%99s-chinatown-to-welcome-year-of-the-dragon/ There are two festival sites with entertainment stages at each: 727 N. Hill Street on Sat., Jan. 28 , 2012 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Central Plaza at 943-951 N. Broadway on Sat., Jan. 28 from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Sun., Jan. 29 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The 113th Annual Golden Dragon Parade is on Sat., Jan. 28 beginning at 1 p.m. http://thesource.metro.net/category/lifestyle/go-metro-lifestyle/ Although the festival is free, those who get there by Metro and can prove it will receive a free gift at the Chinatown BID event info booth. Take the Gold Line and hop off at Chinatown Station to get into the middle of the action, or jump on the Metro Local Bus 76 or Metro Rapid 794. http://chinatownla.com/calendar.php?eventId=80 Get ready for one of the largest Chinese New Year celebrations in the country as Los Angeles Chinatown kicks off the Year of the Dragon in a big way. The weekend of January 28 & 29, 2012 will be full of fun activities for all ages beginning with the 113th Annual Golden Dragon Parade on Saturday, Jan. 28th. Enjoy hundreds of spectacular floats, decked out cars, dancers and bands as they parade down the heart of Chinatown. The Lunar New Year Festival commences after the parade with cultural performances by some of the nation's best Chinese acts. Enjoy one or several cultural workshops and sample the many gourmet food trucks at the event. Wildly popular Cupcake Wars will be on hand with 1000 Chinese New Year themed cupcakes for attendees to enjoy. The Chinese New Year Festival is free and open to all ages. For more information call 213-680-0243. ******** read more

This is the 112th Golden Dragon Parade and Festival celebrating the year of the rabbit. It's organized by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles. In Southern California, it's a pretty exciting event for the new year celebration. I went yesterday and it was great. The attendance in the festival and the parade (including participants) are pretty diverse reflective on LA. Even though it's China town and you see a lot of Chinese people as well as many other Asian groups of people, you'll also see a lot of people from diverse backgrounds just checking out the cultural event. In the parade you'd see lots of floats, marching bands, martial artists, dragons, dances, etc. One thing worth noting from the Dragon Parade was API Equality-LA marching. API Equality is a coalition of organizations and individuals who support marriage equality. You see about 125+ people in red t-shirts supporting the cause, rainbow banners, and banners of the many organizations. In fact, API Equality is the largest contingency in the parade in terms of numbers of participants. I didn't attend the festival too much, but from what I could tell there were a lot of Food Trucks and lots of vendors and booths and food stands and stuff. read more

I couldn't wait for it to end. This was such a weak excuse for a chinese new years parade. First off, the parade had a mexican girl rock band that was performing on a war helicopter... Not sure the correlation there, but ok. Secondly, they had a bunch of random groups participating in the parade like a cheerleading squad from OC??? Seriously, I think less than half of the parade had anything even close to do with Chinese or the year of the dragon. Aside from the parade, they charged $20 for parking and $40 when it was close to filling up. The crowd was rude and pushy, but I guess that isn't the parades fault. read more

Definitely take the train. Parking is at least $20 and the station is only a few blocks from the main stage. Whoever recommended folding chairs must have shown up really early. The street was so crowded, we had to stand and peer over heads. I regretted bringing the chairs, they were a pain to carry through the crowds. I kept bumping people. We came for the second 1/2 and parade and stayed for the festival. It seemed like a good strategy. What we saw of the parade was weak (maybe the best was at the beginning), I recommend skipping the parade and just going to the festival (which goes on Sunday too BTW). I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed the dragon dancers- great performance!!! read more

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I am proud to be part of a city where Gay pride can be celebrated and at this parade the movement for respect and equality was in full force. I also appreciated the various schools K-12 marching, playing music or dressed in decorative gear and as part of dragons. Politicians were also showcased in nice classic cars as well as beauty queens. I was most impressed by the kids who had to carry stuff during the entire parade. I did not see any street vendors selling cotton candy, hot dogs and such. I did not hear the loud Compton drum band I hear during the South Gate parade. What I value from this parade however is the display of Chinese culture and celebration of a culture I can appreciate. read more

I been to many Chinese Festival Event in L.A. for many years, but the golden dragon parade is always my to do list and finally been mark off. I didn't know that this parade was 115 years old ! That is almost as old as the popular rose parade, which just turns 125 this year. I glad that I finally when to that one as well. The parade is starting from Bernard Street and North Broadway. It said it begin in 1pm, but reality it didn't started till like 20 minutes later. We were right in the started line. The parade was unorganized, after watching half hour is felt like Déjà vu. The lion dance, Mexican dancer, and the school performance were keep coming out every so often and they are too similar. The more time I watching the parade, it like watching a very long commercial. Other than schools, is all private business or organization try to promoted their product, causes, or service. Hardy any float at all. The worst one was from Walmart. I like wtf is Walmart during here? They sending a Walmart truck with few Chinese Red Paper all over the truck and call that a float? That was insulting and not to mention there is a long battle of delay the opening of their store in Chinatown, which Walmart won in the end. I was surprise that huge crown show up for the parade, almost as crowded as Rose Parade in some area. We when there almost an hour early and cannot find a empty first row spot anywhere. I not looking forward coming back here unless they specific on what kind of float will be show up in the parade, right now I all see was mostly advertisement . Shame to those who manage the parade. You are better off go after the parade and head to the Grand Central Plaza instead, far more stuff to see there. If you had kids then this probably still worth to go for once. read more

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Dude. I remember this parade being much more fun when I was a kid. Of course, I was under 10. Getting a goldfish at the carnival and gleefully letting it go in one of the wishing ponds in Chinatown was always fun. After watching one or two lion and dragon dances, you become an instant judge of what makes a good show. Is the pearl moving invitingly, causing the dragon to chase? Are the lion dancers artfully winking at you? Are there stunts? Things that didn't make sense: lots of cops, fire and sheriff groups marching (or cops on motorcycles doing tricks) a group of people waving flags silently as they pass you bands that don't play anything a float sponsored by Harrah's (are we stereotyping Chinese people like to gamble!?) a float from Southwest Airlines Families with Chinese children Wow, a parade for parents who have adopted Chinese babies? Wha? Huh? Things that made a little more sense: Ted Chen, local news presenter a Chinese American captain of the LAFD (following the Assistant chief who was not Chinese) tai chi groups Gay & Lesbian groups (including the China Rainbow group) This parade celebrated its 110 anniversary this year. After over a hundred years of putting this together, I'm surprised the Chinese Chamber of Commerce best guests were the local Chinese consulate, the Miss Chinatown Queen and her court and local school bands (some hailing as far as Norwalk and Glendale). The parade lasted 3 hours and I think some of the groups were re-grouping and parading around again. If you parked on either Hill or Broadway, you were blocked in and couldn't leave. I knew that this would happen but after watching for 30 minutes, I wanted to see if I could claw my way out anyway. I did enjoy watching a sheriff get out of a squad car, walk to a bakery, buy some stuff and run to catch up with the three cars to give them each a box of goodies. I'm staying in Central Plaza next year to watch the Shaolin warriors group again if next year's parade is as bad as this year's! read more

I've been to the Golden Dragon Parade two years in a row now, in 2012 and 2013 (year of the dragon and year of the snake.) It's certainly not the grandest parade you will ever see. The pacing is a bit uneven; it takes some of the bands or floats a long time to come down the street. Nothing is too elaborate. It's no Rose Bowl, or NYC Thanksgiving parade. I'm sure there are bigger and better Chinatown parades in San Francisco, or New York. But it is a really fun day out, and a great excuse to actually be out on the streets of LA, walking around and enjoying the fact that it's warm and sunny in February, people-watching and mingling with a diverse group of people. Kids are always shooting confetti rockets over the crowd, too, which is a lot of fun. I recommend walking up north on Broadway or Hill afterwards, to the Chinatown plaza to check out the Lunar New Year festival. They always have food trucks, performers on a main stage, and booths to shop at (ranging over a wide range of prices, from good bargains to handmade but still really overpriced "unique" stuff of the sort you find at every local craft fair.) I've never driven here, and I would NOT recommend it. Take the red line and get off at Civic Center and walk north, or the Gold Line and get off at Chinatown and walk south. Diverse is the key here -- the parade, and the crowd, reflect our beautiful, interesting, something-for-everyone city. There are bands from local high schools, cars carrying local politicians and newscasters, traditional Mexican dancers, marchers from an API Queer/Straight alliance, Chinese dragons and lions, floats with beauty queens, and so on and so forth. (Also a huge float from Commerce Casino. Which may or may not have anything to do with the stereotype that Asian retirees like to spend time at casinos. . . . ) This year, we saw Eric Garcetti and Wendy Gruel (so, quite likely saw the future mayor of LA) marching. We also saw Carmen Trutanich*, whom my parade companion took great delight in personally flipping off (when no small children were looking, of course.) So come to the Golden Dragon parade to see happy families and vent your anger at/express your admiration for your local officials! * read the Wikipedia page for Trutanich to see why he is worthy of being flipped off! read more

This parade is worth seeing once only. I have been to it 3 times, and every time it is basically the same. The good part is that there is a lot of people having fun, with none of the danger of the bad/weird/hoodlums lurking around during the parade. It is good family fun. As for the bad part, the timing of the parade is horrible. I expected floats to come by continuously like most parades. But this parade is the exception. Floats would come by and then no floats for 3-5 minutes, then continue on again. Several times people would wonder if this is the end of the parade, but wait, more floats. Sometimes the floats would not have anything to do with asian culture, which is quite humorous. In addition, it does not start on time. Usually the parade starts 30-45 minutes late. The parade organizers need to get their act together. The professional organization of the parade makes it look worse than a local high school parade. Again, try it once, and that one experience is good enough. read more

The los angeles version of the chinese new years parade is definitely unique to LA. The reason being that its more like the multicultural parade if anything. I still chuckle at the scottish bagpipe band that shows up on an annual basis, but what the hey its a weekend for everybody to be chinese. What keeps me coming back every year is the giant stream of firecrackers that they light up after the parade read more

I had never been to the dragon parade in China Town before, and I heard it was a big spectacle so I went with some friends to see it. It is the Year of the Dragon after all. Seeing the dragon dancers was cool, and hearing the music/drumming that accompanied them. The parade had long gaps at times, and it was such a hot day. Some of the parade was boring as it's person after person. I wanted to see more of a spectacle and show. i guess I was comparing it to the Rose Parade or the Disneyland Parades, which are far superior and probably shouldn't even be compared to this one. But if you're in China Town and have never seen one before, I'd recommend checking it out. You can also get some of those popping firecrackers and throw them on the ground. That's a lot of fun! read more

Ughghgh - How is it possible we can't even manage to do this correctly?? The parade started a half an hour late. When it did start it was led off by our mayor - that man ooozes sleaze and literally reeks of insincerity and onions. It is/was a Chinese New Years Parade - it should be kept on point celebrating everything about the culture. Other than being based in Downtown's China Town there was not much authentic culture in the mix. The Dragon dance was a confused joke (I'm not even Asian and I could see this). I've been to New Years celebrations in both New York's and San Francisco's China Town's - and they are world's apart. With all of the Chinese restaurants/vendors in the area did we truly need non asian food trucks (or food trucks at all??). The lack of participation by various Chinese/ethnic groups in the Los Angeles area was astounding. The overall experience was just sad to embarrassing. Another typical LA mishap - I mean moment (anyone remember how these very same idiots lamely lit the Hollywood sign back in 2000 when the rest of the country's/world's great cities celebrated a millennium??). Seriously embarrassing - oh but did you hear we're getting an NFL team Downtown - not a world class medical research center or law school or academic center - but a sports complex -- think about it - great cities are built upon embracing academia and diverse cultures - not sport complexes. From the top down - the bureaucracy of this city doesn't get many things right not even something as simple as this parade. read more

Second year there and probably our last! Sadly, people are out of control! Cops need to keep the crowds in safe areas behind the lines! Kids running everywhere! Not cool! Best part of parade is the motorcycle cops in the beginning, yang chows and food trucks! Otherwise, parade is long with long pauses between each entry! read more

My family and have have been attending this once wonderful parade for 25 years. Over the last 5 years it has gotten out of control. There are literally 15-20 min gaps between participants with no crowd control while LAPD is taking selfies (which I'm happy to see the young kids excited to take) BUT GET CONTROL OF YOUR PARADE!!! With that said, we will be back next year only to have lunch at Yang Chows...The best food ever!!! read more

No big deal, this was just the 117th annual parade celebrating the Chinese New Year. It's clearly one of LA's longest running (and beloved!) traditions, and incorporates kung fu demonstrations, Chinese beauty queens, traditional music, and many, many dragons. read more

missed last yr. but I am ready for this yr's parade. I enjoy the kind ness of people who are there and the people who are in the parade.why so much police? read more