It’s officially the Year of the Dog on the Chinese Lunar Calendar, and Vancouver is gearing up for the crowds.
The city’s annual Chinese New Year Parade is returning for its 45th year on Sunday, and is expected to include more than 3,000 participants. Organizers say they’re preparing for more than 100,000 spectators.
The festival includes lion dances, cultural dance troupes, marching bands, martial artists and other performers.
But chief parade coordinator and vice president of the Vancouver Chinese Benevolent Association Jun Ing says while the parade is rooted in Chinese culture, it also has its own particular multicultural Vancouver flavour.
“We’re going to see the traditional fire crackers, the dragons, the lions and, you know, the dance troupes. But this year, I think we’re going to have more participation from the South Asian community.”
The parade kicks off at 11 a.m. at the Millennium Gate on Pender Street in Vancouver’s Historic Chinatown, and follows a 1.3 kilometre route, ending at the intersection of Keefer and Abbott Streets about two hours later.