While some of the city’s largest events have yet to make a post-pandemic return, the Lunar New Year parade in Chinatown is no longer one of them. The long-awaited return of the Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Celebration is set to ring in the Year of the Rabbit at the end of the month.
This festival is a signature event of Vancouver’s Chinatown, and is expected to attract over 100,000 people this year. Its organizers? A mighty team including the Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver, the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver, Vancouver Chinatown Merchants Association, S.U.C.C.E.S.S., Chinese Freemasons Vancouver Branch, and Shon Yee Benevolent Association of Canada.
Not only is the event one of the largest non-commercial annual parades in the city, but it also features the largest assembly of traditional lion dance teams in Canada.
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According to the organizers’ website, the 1.3-km long route 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 ends on Keefer at Abbott.
The 48th annual parade will commence at 11 am on Sunday, January 22nd, and take approximately two hours.
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The lion dance will continue throughout Chinatown following the parade from 2 to 4 pm. At this time, visitors can also visit the festival’s fair at the Sun Yat-Sen Plaza (50 East Pender Street).
Check out this map of the parade and prepare for multiple road closures if you’re driving through the area.
We’ll see you there, Vancouver!
Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Parade 2023
When: Sunday, January 22nd
Where: 108 East Pender Street
Cost: Free
