Chinese New Year Parade set for Saturday night in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO -- The city of San Francisco is gearing up for the annual Chinese New Year Parade this Saturday, a San Francisco tradition that's been around since the Gold Rush times.

The parade, which is being put on by the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Southwest Airlines, will take over downtown starting at 5:15 p.m. at Second and Market streets, according to parade officials.

More than 100 groups will be featured in this year's parade, as they show off brightly colored floats, elaborate costumes, drums, lanterns, firecrackers and more. Additionally, attendees will get a chance to see the newly crowned Miss Chinatown U.S.A. and her court.

The Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Pageant, a celebration of pageant winners from other cities, was held last Saturday. The winner, Karen Yang of Sugar Land, Texas, will be crowned this evening at the Coronation Ball, which will be held at 6 p.m. at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square Hotel at 333 O'Farrell Street, organizers said.

Also one of the parade's highlights is a 268-inch Golden Dragon that will snake through the city, using a team of more than 100 men and women from the martial arts group White Crane.

The parade is a tradition in the city since the 1860s and was created not only to celebrate the start of the Chinese New Year calendar, but also as a way to educate Bay Area residents about Chinese culture. The San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade is the largest celebration of Asian culture outside of Asia, according to parade officials.

The parade will commence at Market and Second streets, then head west down Market Street and turning right onto Kearny Street, then west on Post Street to Powell, heading north on Powell Street to Sutter Street, then east on Sutter Street and back onto Kearny Street, and lastly onto Columbus Avenue, where the parade will then disperse.

Streets along the parade route will be closed beginning at 5 p.m. and will reopen a short while after the parade has passed and the route has been cleaned, parade officials said.

Market Street between Second and Fremont Street and Second Street between Market and Mission streets will be closed at 4 p.m., in order to accommodate the parade's staging area.

Attendees are encouraged to arrive on BART, San Francisco Municipal Railway, Caltrain or other public transportation options, as heavy traffic and full parking garages are expected, according to parade officials.