San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Festival and Parade holds two badges of honor. It’s the largest Lunar New Year parade outside of Asia, and it’s held in the oldest Chinatown in the nation.
Those distinctions are key as Chinatown strives to bounce back from COVID-19-pandemic-fueled business closures, hate crimes and attacks on Asian Americans, and an aging population that is struggling to maintain the historic culture of the district.
But in this Year of the Dragon, the parade and festival also have a mighty force on their side.
Harlan Wong, who has directed the parade for the past 18 years, calls the Year of the Dragon the most “powerful sign” in the Chinese Zodiac.
The parade will also feature some star power. Actress, singer and comedian Awkwafina of “Crazy Rich Asians” fame is the grand marshal of Saturday night’s parade and festival, which organizers said could draw up to a million people.
“It's such an honor to serve as grand marshal of the San Francisco Lunar New Year Parade,’’ the Asian star said in a statement. “I’m so excited to celebrate with our community.”
Awkwafina also stars in the upcoming DreamWorks Animation film “Kung Fu Panda 4” as Zhen, a quick-witted corsac fox who teams up with Po, the legendary Dragon Warrior played by Jack Black.
While the Dragon is known to be a powerful sign, it also symbolizes good fortune — something organizers said they had when Awkwafina agreed to lead the parade.
“We just got lucky,” Wong said.
Awkwafina said she’s glad that luck was on their side.
“Having been born in the Year of the Dragon, I look forward to fostering growth and progress that the upcoming year will bring for us,” the Golden Globe-winning actress said in a statement.
About the parade
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Awkwafina will kick off the parade, which begins Saturday at 5:15 p.m., by lighting the ceremonial opening fireworks. Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown will also participate in the festivities as an honorary marshal.
The parade will include 19 floats, 18 of which were assembled by The Parade Guys, according to the group’s director, Stephanie Mufson. The group has been working on the floats for several months, including putting together a 13-foot-long dragon fully covered in mirrors.
“He’s basically a dragon disco ball,’’ Mufson said.
She said it took a team of five about 3 weeks to cover the dragon in mirrors.
“He looks absolutely amazing,” she said.
The parade will begin at Market and Second streets and end at Kearny and Jackson streets after following a 1.3-mile route. The parade will last about 2½ hours and will take place rain or shine.
The Year of the Dragon — the fifth animal in the Chinese Zodiac — began Feb. 10. Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, originated thousands of years ago to commemorate the beginning of the Lunar New Year and is celebrated to honor the renewal of nature. It is a time for reunion and gratitude.
One thing Wong said he is grateful for is how social media has helped to spread the word about the parade and festival.
“This year we are really excited by the parade numbers,” he said. “We are expecting a bigger-than-usual crowd.”
Part of that is thanks to pushing the parade and its grand marshal on Instagram, he said.
“We want to reach a different demographic,’’ Wong said. “A lot of older immigrants have roots here, but we are trying to get the younger demographic aware of the culture and celebrate the festivities.”
