The annual celebration of Lunar New Year held by the Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area returned to the Chinatown-International District on April 30, bringing tons of excitement to community members after two years of pandemic.

by Debby Cheng

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The annual celebration of Lunar New Year hosted by the Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA), a celebration that has been traditionally held for decades, returned to the community after two years of pandemic. While last year CIDBIA opted to do a food walk only, this year will be the first Lunar New Year celebration back in-person with the street festival.

The beginning of the Year of the Tiger, commonly known as the Lunar New Year, landed on Feb. 1 this year. CIDBIA had to postpone the event to April due to the rapid development of the omicron variant earlier this year. Connie Au-Yeung, the communications and marketing manager of CIDBIA, said they were working their best to follow the safety protocols. “There are obviously some difficulties planning around health and safety guidelines, but ultimately the goal is to invigorate the space and the neighborhood,” she said. “There’s nothing we can’t get past.”

The event managed to happen on April 30 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., drawing hundreds of people from different communities to gather in Chinatown. The celebration showcased different entertainers, live performances, and vendors, and aimed to create an economically vibrant neighborhood. A variety of traditional Chinese art performances were performed on the Hing Hay Park stage, including lion dance, Chinese cultural dance, and multiple martial arts showcases.

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📸 Featured Image: Two martial artists from the Wudang Internal Martial Arts performance team are performing b​​ōjutsu, a martial art of stick fighting, on the Hing Hay Park stage. They were fighting against each other, and the performer in a blue uniform was jumping to avoid the other performer’s “attack” on April 30, 2022. (Photo: Debby Cheng)

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