Chinatown Celebrates “Year of the Ox”

Chinatown Celebrates “Year of the Ox”
With a Parade, Festival and Week-long Festivities


On Saturday and Sunday, January 31 and February 1, 2009, Chinatown will usher in the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Ox 4707, with a two-day celebration featuring a parade, a family festival, and “The Great Chinatown Hunt.”

The 110th Annual Golden Dragon Parade will take place on Saturday, January 31 from 2pm- 4pm along Broadway and Hill Streets. Over 100 floats, bands, marching bands, dignitaries in cars, and costumed organizations with Chinatown roots will parade through the streets. Also featured is a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Broadway opening of “The Flower Drum Song,” the award-winning Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. A number of the original film and stage actors will ride in the parade including Nancy Kwan, Alvin Ing, Tamlyn Tomita, and others.

Actress Nancy Kwan will serve as Grand Marshal for this year’s parade. Discovered at age 19 and cast in the starring role opposite William Holden in “The World of Suzie Wong” (1960), Nancy Kwan went on to become one of Hollywood’s most visible Asian actresses, appearing in over forty films and numerous television and stage productions. One of her most endearing roles was in the film “Flower Drum Song.” Today, Ms. Kwan continues to work as an actress and producer and has been honored by the Chinese American Museum, the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, and was appointed Hong Kong’s film ambassador in 2002. She recently served as the Jury Chairperson for the Women’s International Film and Television Showcase Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Waiving from his parade car, Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will don Chinese garb and ride in the procession along with other local government officials and city council members. Always a popular parade attraction, the newly crowned 2009 Miss Los Angeles Chinatown Queen, Lindsay Louie, will ride on a float accompanied by 1st Princess Marisa Wahl, 2nd Princess Janice Chan, 3rd Princess Jennifer Lui, 4th Princess Suyun Wu, and the 2009 Miss Friendship Joyce Huang.

A free Chinese New Year Festival (with food booths and children’s activities) will take place throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday, January 31 and February 1 at the corner of Broadway and Cesar Chavez streets. There will be two entertainment stages featuring cultural performances—one at the festival area (Broadway and Cesar Chavez) and one in Central Plaza, (943-951 N. Broadway St., just 3 blocks north of Cesar Chavez Street). Festival hours are 10am to 8pm on Saturday and 10am to 6pm on Sunday.

Located in the historic heart of Chinatown, the Central Plaza stage will feature the Shaolin Warriors of Chinatown in a spectacular new performance choreographed by Precision Choreography complete with live Chinese musicians. Through the use of Chinese acrobatic arts and dance movements, the production will evoke themes of the Chinese zodiac and the concept of Yin and Yang culminating in the arrival of the mythical Ox (for which this year is named). Skillfully choreographed martial arts feats, contortion twists, and pole climbing acts will crescendo into a finale featuring all the performers in a salute to Chinese New Year. Both breathtaking and beautiful, the show is designed to please the whole family. “Dawn of the Ox” will take place Saturday 1-2pm and 5-6pm, and Sunday 1-2pm and 4-5pm.

New this year, “The Great Chinatown Hunt,” organized by Race/LA, will take place on Sunday, February 1 from 11am-2pm and again on Saturday, February 7 from 11am-2pm. Teams of 2 to 4 players will have a total of three hours to solve a challenging series of clues leading them around Chinatown. To register, or for more information, visit www.racela.com or call (310) 360-6950.

Chinatown streets will also be decked out for the New Year. Over 200 “Year of the Ox” banners created by SCI-Arc students will hang on street light poles throughout the area. (The students attend the Southern California Institute of Architecture’s downtown campus.) The banners are sponsored by the L.A. Chinatown Business Improvement District and the San Antonio Winery. The design evokes the new and old facets of today’s contemporary Chinatown which is both the historic heart of Southern California’s Chinese-American community, and an internationally recognized center for cutting edge art and culture.

Parking is plentiful throughout Chinatown, although Hill and Broadway streets will be closed to accommodate the parade on Saturday. Both parade and festival are also easily accessed by bus or via Metro Gold Line rail from the Chinatown Station, a short walk away.

Other Chinese New Year festivities will take place the following week, Saturday and Sunday February 7 and 8th, with the annual Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker 10K and 5K Runs. Dubbed the “Firecracker Nite ‘n’ Day” event, the weekend will feature entertainment on both days, a carbo-loading event on Saturday, the walk/runs on Sunday, and a new 20-mile bike ride. After thirty-one years of existence, the Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker run is the longest running Chinese New Year athletic event in America. For additional information, or to register for the run/walk/bike ride, visit www.firecracker10k.org or call (323) 256-1363.

The 2009 Golden Dragon Parade and Chinese New Year Festival are organized by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The Central Plaza Chinese New Year Show is organized by the L.A. Chinatown Business Improvement District.

Don’t miss the spectacularly choreographed “Dawn of the Ox” featuring the Shaolin Warriors of Chinatown!

Saturday, Jan. 31
1-2pm and 5-6pm,
Sunday, Feb. 1
1-2pm and 4-5pm.
Central Plaza (943-951 N. Broadway)
Free

posted on 2009-01-27 - Special Events, Chinatown BID


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