Where to Celebrate the Lunar New Year 2024 Around Seattle

It’s the Year of the Wood Dragon!

by Jas Keimig

The Lunar New Year is an important holiday in cultures across Asia, beckoning the arrival of spring and generally celebrated with food, dance, family, and tons of convivial festivities.

In 2024, the world is welcoming the Year of the Wood Dragon, with the dragon itself representing good luck and protection. “The element of wood is seen in Daoist tradition as a return to the natural state of being, which in the dragon’s case points to a return to kindness,” NBC News reports. “And Confucian thought interprets wood as a symbol of unlimited potential.”

Because the Lunar New Year depends on the lunisolar calendar, its exact dates shift from year to year. And this year, the special date is Feb. 10. Celebrations start the night before and extend up to 15 days after, so there are lots of opportunities to welcome in the Lunar New Year here in Seattle.

Think we missed something? Let us know at Arts@SeattleEmerald.org.

Lunar New Year Family Festival

Feb. 3, 10:30 a.m.–2 p.m.
Seattle Asian Art Museum, Fuller Garden Court
1400 East Prospect St., Seattle

The Seattle Asian Art Museum is hosting a giant Lunar New Year celebration inside their Fuller Garden Court replete with art activities hosted by Juliana Kang Robinson and Julie Kim, a photo booth, storytimes with mam’s books, and a live lion dance performance from Mak Fai Kung Fu Dragon and Lion Dance Association. There will also be dumplings for sale by Shooby Doo Catering in partnership with MìLà dumpling company. Programming is free with a suggested donation.

Lunar New Year Fair

Feb. 3, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Wing Luke Museum
719 S King St., Seattle

Over in the CID, Wing Luke Museum has organized a huge Lunar New Year festival. The day kicks off with a 10 a.m. Lion Dance by Mak Fai Kung Fu Dragon and Lion Dance Association. Then at 11 a.m., the Wing Luke will swing open their doors for a zodiac scavenger hunt, calligraphy classes with Maggie Ho, a dragon balloon arch photo op by Happy Balloon Decorations, and a storytime with drag queen Viper Fengz, as well as Year of the Dragon crafts and raffle drawings!

Lunar New Year Celebration

Feb. 3, 11 a.m.– 6 p.m.
Bellevue Square
575 Bellevue Sq., Bellevue

If you want to celebrate the Lunar New Year and get a little shopping done, Bellevue Square has organized an all-day family-friendly celebration. There will be live performances from organizations like Shirley Wang Seattle Guzheng Academy and the Seattle Shaolin Kung Fu Academy. And tons of activities too — a good luck knot and bead bracelet workshop, calligraphy classes, and face painting sessions. Take pictures in front of Bellevue Square’s Center Court interactive screen. And make your Din Tai Fung reservations right now!

Tết in Seattle 2024

Feb. 3–4, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Seattle Center
305 Harrison St., Seattle

Spend a day this weekend at Seattle Center, where the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, Tết, is being celebrated. Each day starts with a Gia Đình Phật Tử Liễu Quán Lion Dance and is packed with performances (Lê Toàn, Lưu Bích, Crystal Mai, Như Ý), spelling bees and Jeopardy games, fashion shows, an eating competition, and, of course, tons of food from Churr All I Need, Cỏ May Bistro, Mr. Green Bubble, Cloud & Cream Cakery, and more.

Lunar New Year

Feb. 10, 2 p.m.–4 p.m.
Pacific Place
600 Pine St., Seattle

Pacific Place will be hosting their own Lunar New Year celebration fit for families of all ages. There will be a photo booth, dragon puppet- and mask-making activities, and Mak Fai Kung Fu Club will be on deck for a live Lion Dance performance and drum show. Don’t forget to make your Din Tai Fung reservation!

Lunar New Year Kick-Off Day

Feb. 10, 12 p.m.–10 p.m.
Lucky Envelope Brewing
907 NW 50th St., Seattle

What better way to start the Year of the Wood Dragon than with primo local beers. The team over at Lucky Envelope Brewing has conjured up some delicious brews in honor of the Lunar New Year — the Dragonfruit Wheat (a collab with Highland Brewing) and Power and Elegance, an oolong tea lager (another collab with Austin Beerworks and Kaiju Cut and Sew), and their Double Happiness imperial stout. Come through to sip some brewskis and inhale food from Panda Dim Sum. Lucky Envelope will also have a red envelope giveaway for people who get there early, as well as a limited run of Year of the Wood Dragon T-shirts for sale.

Lunar New Year Night Market

Feb. 10, 4–10 p.m.
Magnuson Park Hangar 30
6310 NE 74th St., Seattle

125 vendors and food trucks will be taking over the Lunar New Year Night Market at Magnuson Park Hangar 30. Grab a ticket ($15–$25 just FYI) and slide through to peruse through Asian American and Pacific Islander vintage and handmade wares, eat some food, and sip on boozy boba at their giant cocktail bar. The Mak Fai Kung Fu Club is there to perform a Lion Dance while DJs Moobek, Acacia, and Hwarang will be behind the decks spinning tunes with a guest performance by K POP Seattle. Oh! And there will also be a photo booth.

Lunar New Year Celebration With Whiskey & Kimbap

Feb. 20, 5:30 p.m. & 6 p.m.
Ohsun
221 1st Ave. S., Seattle

In honor of the Year of the Wood Dragon, OHSUN Banchan Deli & Cafe will be hosting a kimbap workshop, teaching two groups of 25 people how to make the delicious and popular Korean street food. After the 20-minute demonstration, students will get to sip on Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel cocktails and snack on more food with vegan and gluten-free options available. As a heads up, the event is run through the Seattle Cocktail Club so tickets for non-members are a little steep ($85). Just FYI!

CID’s Lunar New Year Celebration

Feb. 24
Hing Hay Park and Chinatown-International District, Seattle

Close out the Lunar New Year with Chinatown-International District’s huge Year of the Wood Dragon celebration. There will be tons of vendor booths and food trucks along South King Street, live performances at the main stage in Hing Hay Park, a food walk featuring over 40 local CID businesses, and a Bruce Lee Costume Celebration where organizers are encouraging people to dress like the iconic martial artist and actor in honor of the 50th anniversary of his passing.

This article is published under a Seattle Human Services Department grant, “Resilience Amidst Hate,” in response to anti-Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander violence.

Jas Keimig is a writer and critic based in Seattle. They previously worked on staff at The Stranger, covering visual art, film, music, and stickers. Their work has also appeared in Crosscut, South Seattle Emerald, i-D, Netflix, and The Ticket. They also co-write Unstreamable for Scarecrow Video, a column and screening series highlighting films you can’t find on streaming services. They won a game show once.

📸 Featured Image: Tết in Seattle is hosting their Vietnamese Lunar New Year Celebration at Seattle Center from Feb. 3 to 4. (Photo: David Conger)

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