Photo: Luke Ma via Flickr Creative Commons

This weekend, take the Metro Gold Line to Chinatown to celebrate the Lunar New Year!

The Golden Dragon Parade takes place on Saturday at 1 p.m. Get a front row spot to cheer on the floats, decked-out cars, dancers and bands as they travel through the heart of Chinatown with Grand Marshal Mayor Eric Garcetti. Please note that some buses will be detouring through the area due to the parade, check the Service Advisories page for details.

In addition to the usual Chinese New Year Festival taking place in Central and West Plazas (943-951 N. Broadway), there will be two new satellite locations this year: Downtown Flea will bring their popular craft market to 727 N. Hill Street and Central Plaza, while 643 North and Caveman Vintage Music will present the Spring Festival, a food and music experience, at 643 N. Spring Street.

The Chinese New Year Festival at 727 N. Hill and in Central and West Plazas will take place from 12 – 8 p.m. on Saturday and from 12 – 5 p.m. on Sunday. The Spring Festival at 643 N. Spring will run on Saturday only from 4 – 10 p.m. All events are open to the public.

To reach the festivals, take the Metro Gold Line to Chinatown Station, or connect via the Gold, Red and Purple Line at Union Station and walk north on Alameda Street to Chinatown. For more routes and connections, use Trip Planner. Metro will operate on normal weekend schedule, but additional train cars will be added to accommodate expected crowds.