The closing Lunar New Year festivities were celebrated in grand style in Chinatown with dancing lions and weaving dragons along the parade route starting on Mott St. and hopping its way to East Broadway and then to Sara Roosevelt Park. Thousands cheered on their favorite groups and some revelers reached out to please the dancing lions with red envelopes. There is always a pre-parade ceremony held on the corner of Mott and Hester Streets where NY heavyweight politicians greeted the crowd and gave some encouraging words. Many gave thanks to Stephen Tin, president of Better Chinatown, for working so tirelessly to bring forth a top notch event for the city over the last 25 years. Seated on stage for the ceremony were US Rep. Nydia Velazquez from NY, US Senator Chuck Schumer from NY, Governor Kathy Hochul, NYS AG Leticia James, and NYC Mayor Adams. They all stayed for the annual feeding lettuce to the lions for good luck and prosperity. Then the parade started with the NYC Marching Band playing some upbeat tunes.
Plenty of people lined up to see the dancing lions to rub it’s head or leave a red envelope to bring good fortune. This festival is one the most important in Chinese culture and lasts for several weeks in mainland China. In this parade, many groups representing Chinese associations from around the country and China came to march. A new twist came when announcers asked some of the marchers to greet the crown at a tent along the parade route near Chatham Square in the shadow of the famous Confucius statue. Several corporate floats with people dressed in traditional attire arrived to support the Chinese community. One part that keeps growing each year are the sports cars that revved up their engines to please the crowd. It was a fun parade with plenty of celebration. Once the fun was over I couldn’t help but visit my favorite restaurant in Chinatown for the last 40 years….Wo Hop at 17 Mott St. (the downstairs one).
NYC Parade Life 
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