Chinatown Splendiferous: Lion Dancers, Drums, Flying Confetti in Lunar New Year Parade

Thousands of spectators swarmed the streets of greater Chinatown on Feb. 8 to enjoy the sights and sounds of the annual “Super Saturday” Lunar New Year Lion Dance Parade. While temperatures in the 30s and overcast skies meant some attendees stayed out only as long as cold hands and feet allowed, the event was a multi-generational delight, and arguably the highlight of the multiweek celebrations that make up Lunar New Year in Manhattan.

The term “Super Saturday” is playful but widely accepted form of promotion for the event, which generally falls on the second Saturday of February and is reserved for this particular form of celebration—which isn’t exactly a parade as most New Yorkers know them.

Instead of going from point A to point B with a variety of vehicles, police, politicians, and dignitaries in tow, the Lion Dance Parade is more like a neighborhood-wide semi-open streets—and sidewalks—event with at least some of the 20 or so Lion Dance groups performing within each section of the route.

If this sounds complicated, well, it is but that’s a large part of what makes the event so exciting, as one doesn’t know exactly what they’ll see where or when except that it will be colorful, loud, and friendly.

The ground covered by the parade is ample, stretching from Baxter Street on the west; the Bowery on the east, along with an additional leg including East Broadway, Market Street, and Division Street; Worth Street on the south and Grand Street on the north.

While this left the parts of Chinatown area east of Chrystie Street lacking lions for the day, Sara D. Roosevelt Park did play host to the Jan. 29 firecracker ceremony, which included a few lion dancers of its own.

Given the large amount of territory to cover, this reporter made the strategic decision to zero in on Bayard Street, the throbbing artery in the traditional heart of Chinatown. Shortly before 10 a.m., the scene outside 81 Bayard, an old six-story tenement building between Mott and Mulberry, amply rewarded our presence, including a brief hello with fast-walking City Council member Christopher Marte.

Though its ground-floor entrance is bracketed by a Cricket phone store and a Chinese convenience store, the building’s second floor is home to the Yee Fong Toy Association, a benevolent organization dedicated to Chinese people with the surname Yee. With the building’s red-painted fire escapes facing Bayard Street, this was a perfect location for the excited Yees to engage in one of the parade’s signature gestures: the feeding of lettuce (and elsewhere oranges) to the lions.

With a platoon of multi-ethnic musicians banging on drums and other percussion instruments, Yee’s Hung-Ga International Kung-Fu Association Dragon and Lion Dance Team delighted the crowd by taking the lettuce and playfully cavorting some more while elder Yees showered the crowd with blasts of Party Popper confetti.

A short time later, the lions—each two or three persons strong—would be entering local businesses to offer their blessings and, in turn, receive the iconic Chinese New Year gift of a red envelope.

Because the lion dancers’ large, draped costumes inhibit their sight, the process of getting into and out of stores and restaurants can be a bit clumsy, but everyone remained in good spirits despite the accidental bumping.

Around the corner on Mott Street, the New York Choy Loy Fut dance team was assembling their costumes and banners, many with an orange-and-black theme. Among the crowd here were also two adorable toddler lions, one red and one yellow, and even one baby lion being pushed in a stroller.

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Early-rising Lion Dancers weren’t the only people cavorting this Saturday morning. Over at the House of Joy restaurant at 28 Pell St., State Assembly member Grace Lee and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine were co-hosts of the Chinatown New Year Breakfast. The event, which was open to the public, paid honor to a number of Chinese people and institutions, including Maxine Ng Dalio of Bodhi House, the American Legion Lt. B.R. Kimlau Chinese Memorial Post (familiar figures from the annual Lower Manhattan 4th of July Parade); bilingual (Mandarin & English) children’s book author Michele Wong McSween; and puppeteer Kathleen Kim of the Sesame Workshop.

Of special note was the recognition given to the Chinatown community group UA3, among whose numerous programs is a food pantry that operates at 384 Grand St. on Mondays and Thursdays.

Music was provided by the AAPI Jazz Collective (an inspired choice), while the family-style breakfast included Vegetarian Spring Rolls; Shrimp Dumplings; Pork and Shrimp Siu Mai; Crispy Whole Chicken; Buddha’s Delight; E-fun Noodles with Black Mushroom; and Young Chow Yellow Fried Rice.