Gallery: Golden Dragon Parade in Chinatown
CHINATOWN - More than 125,000 Los Angeles County residents, visitors and tourists came to Chinatown on Saturday to see the 114th Annual Golden Dragon Parade and participate in the 2013 Chinese New Year Festival.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck were grand marshals for this weekend event, which includes Chinese opera, modern hip hop performances and Shaolin Kung Fu.
The parade route took the form of a very long horseshoe. Throngs of people stood around and sat on the sidewalks from Hill Street and Ord Street to North Broadway and Cesar Chavez Avenue.
A VIP reception hosted by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles included speeches from the grand marshals as well as the honorary grand marshals: Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy Baca, City of Los Angeles Councilmember Ed Reyes and longtime community activist Bibiana Yung.
"Everytime I pass that gateway and I see the dragon, I see what it means symbolically in terms of health, prosperity and good fortune," said Reyes.
The festival attracted large crowds for local Chinatown businesses as well as food festival vendors who served goodies such as burgers, lobster and Mediterranean food.
Christina Chang, a nurse
from Diamond Bar, said she has lived in Southern California for 25 years, but this is the first time she has seen the Golden Dragon Parade. She wanted to bring her son and daughter to see some of their cultural heritage.Chang hadn't gone before because she didn't know the details, she said. This year she got her children to go online and look up the event for her.
Even tourists from China came to watch the parade - the dragon dance, South Pasadena High School Marching Tigers, Beijing Opera singers, Shaolin Temple Martial Arts Academy students and many other performers.
Tourists from Asia were in for a treat because even though the event celebrated the Year of the Snake, the Los Angeles Chinese Chamber of Commerce also invited neighboring ethnic towns: A group of colorful Latino dancers were part of the parade.
Mayor Villaraigosa got in touch with his Chinese side, telling parade watchers that he was born in the Year of the Dragon. He wore a golden "ma gua" or traditional Chinese shirt.
"I got four months left, and I still love my job. Gung Hei Fat Choi. Xin Nian Kuai Le," Villaraigosa said, wishing the crowd a happy New Year in both Cantonese and Mandarin.
Glendale residents Dan Destler, a graphic designer, and Elizabeth Luce, a puppeteer and artist, also joined the joviality. Though they have both lived in Glendale for at least five years, this was their first time seeing the parade because in past years, they always found out about the event ex post facto.
This year, Luce's Chinese friend gave her a cultural lesson about how Chinese New Year is about starting anew. For example, the Chinese often light long strings of red firecrackers to ward off the previous year's evil spirits.
Chinese New Year seems more cheery than how Americans ring in the New Year, Luce said. The Western celebration is drenched in "failed resolutions and stale champagne," she said. Today, she said she was happy to see everyone out with their family and friends.
Some parade watchers bought kitsch - Chinese umbrellas and Asian farmer hats - to give them some shade under the high-noon sun and 81-degree heat. A number of parents dressed their children in traditional Chinese garb.
With two Chinese umbrellas, Deborah Steller, a media director from Woodland Hills, shielded her family of four from the sun. She said this was her fourth time at the Chinese New Year Festival in Chinatown, but this is the first time her 2-year-old twins were seeing the parade.
While shows like the balancing act by Sha Sha; Wushu, a kind of martial arts; and playful acrobatics draw applause, Steller said the dragon dance is the main attraction.
"Everyone lights up when they come through," Steller said.
Steller and her husband said they will come again next year.
Other people don't have to wait that long. They can come to Chinatown on Sunday and see live performances, sit in the beer garden and ride in carnival rides.
The Chinese New Year festival finishes its two-day run today from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 715 N. Hill St. For more information, visit http://www.lagoldendragonparade.com.
If You Go
What: The Chinese New Year Festival.
When: Finishes its two-day run today from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., 715 N. Hill St.
Admission: Free
For more information: visit http://www.lagoldendragonparade.com.
zen.vuong@sgvn.com
626-544-0817
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