page_title: San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade
section_title: Festival events
hierarchical_section_title: San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade / Festival events
caption_attribution_description: Reposting for Chinese New Year! Originally taken in Feb 2017 The head of the 260 ft dragon in last nights New Year's Parade in Chinatown, San Francisco. They say the longer the dragon, the more luck for the community, so thankfully it was very long. I'm not very adept at taking night shots, but decided to share it anyway.
context_page_description: The San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade is an annual event in San Francisco. Held for approximately two weeks following the first day of the Chinese New Year, it combines elements of the Chinese Lantern Festival with a typical American parade. First held in 1851, along what are today Grant Avenue and Kearny Street, it is the oldest and largest event of its kind outside of Asia, and the largest Asian cultural event in North America. The parade route begins on Market Street and terminates in Chinatown.
  Highlights of the parade include floats, lion dancers, elementary school groups in costume, marching bands, stilt walkers, Chinese acrobats, and a Golden Dragon. Observers can expect to hear at least 600,000 firecrackers, and are advised to bring ear plugs.
  The Golden Dragon is one of the highlights of the parade, considered the "Grand Finale" of the parade. It is made in Foshan, China and is 268 feet long, and takes a team of 100 men and women from the martial arts group White Crane to carry it.
  The parade is sponsored by Southwest Airlines and is hosted by the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
context_section_description: The two-week Chinese New Year Festival and Parade, sponsored by Southwest Airlines in recent years, includes two fairs, the Chinese New Year Flower Fair and Chinatown Community Street Fair, the Miss Chinatown USA pageant, and concludes with the parade. Miss Chinatown USA is traditionally present at the parade, as is a Golden Dragon which is more than 201 feet (61 m) long and manned inside by over 100 puppeteers. The Golden Dragon and 600,000 firecrackers conclude the parade. Over 100 groups participate in the parade, which is televised by KTVU and KTSF. 
  Other festival events include a Chinatown run and children's basketball games. Several San Francisco community groups such as the Chinatown YMCA, San Francisco Symphony, and Asian Art Museum hold festivities in Chinatown to celebrate the Chinese New Year as well.
caption: The Golden Dragon, near the finish on Kearny, marks the climax of the New Year Parade in 2017.
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