Photo: Epic Fireworks via Flickr Creative Commons

The Lunar New Year is upon us, and Chinatown is gearing up for the 116th Golden Dragon Parade! The event will take place this Saturday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. Avoid road closures, traffic and a parking headache by going Metro to the parade. You can take various buses or the Red or Purple Line to Union Station and walk to Chinatown, or take the Gold Line to Chinatown Station.

To see which buses will be detouring during the Golden Dragon Parade, see the Service Advisory page.

While you’re in Chinatown, make sure to drop by SweetTown for some delicious treats or milk teas! Use your TAP card to save 10% on your order.

If one day of festivities isn’t enough for you, don’t worry. The Lunar New Year is celebrated over two weeks, and the Firecracker 10K will take place in Chinatown next weekend on March 1. Besides the 5/10K run/walk and bike ride, there will also be a Firecracker Festival featuring free music, entertainment and cultural acts throughout the weekend (Feb. 28 and March 1). Metro riders can save $3 when registering for the run by using our exclusive promo code, plus your TAP card will get you free bag check-in the day of the run.

Wrapping up the Lunar New Year is the Lantern Festival, and you don’t want to miss the Los Angeles Lantern Festival taking place at the Chinese American Museum. The free event will take place Saturday, March 7 and will feature music, arts and crafts, food trucks and fun for the whole family! The Chinese American Museum is located right across the street from Union Station.