I used to live on the fringes of Honolulu’s Chinatown when I was in my 20s. Loved the waterfront location and close proximity to Aloha Tower Marketplace, but I dreaded Chinese New Year. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the Chinese culture. Love, love the food, music and cultural traditions, but the endless firecrackers that my neighbors set off ALL.DAY.LONG. was enough to make me move to Wisconsin. Okay, that’s not the real reason I moved, but I digress.
The point is that if you are looking for a rockin’ place to celebrate the Chinese New Year, Honolulu is a must-visit travel destination. The festivities include incredible ethnic foods, martial arts demonstrations, and an amazing parade. The colorful moving spectacle features a bevy of Narcissus Festival Queens and their courts, dancing lions and a 150-foot long dragon that eats dollar bills from spectators. There’s also a huge block party with two stages of live music, more cultural performances and wait for it… plenty of firecrackers.
If you can’t make it to Honolulu, then try your luck in Las Vegas while you usher in the Year of the Rabbit. A 12-foot tall hare with a coat made from 4,500 plants is ready to be your good luck charm. The perfectly manicured bunny is featured in the Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens along with a 35-foot Chinese Junk Boat with a 38-foot mast, a Ming Dynasty-styled gazebo and eight baby rabbits, each made of 500 live plants.
Sin City is not the only place pulling out all the stops to commemorate Chinese New Year. In Hong Kong a massive night parade will take place on February 3rd, with more than a dozen illuminated floats, acrobats, marching bands, martial arts performers, dance troupes, traditional dragon and lion dancers, and a spectacular fireworks display over Victoria Harbour that will be visible for miles.
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