Lunar New Year parade to take place today in L.A.’s Chinatown

Los Angeles will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Saturday with the 121st Golden Dragon Parade in Chinatown, even though a similar celebration set in Alhambra was postponed because of fears over the growing coronavirus outbreak.

The parade starts at 1 p.m. at Hill and Ord streets, though some streets were shut down at 10 a.m. There will also be a festival featuring artists, food trucks and performances.

Street closures include Hill between Bernard Street and Temple Avemie; Ord, Alpine, College and Bernard streets between Broadway and Hill; Broadway between Bernard and Cesar Chavez Avenue; and Cesar Chavez between Broadway and Main Street.

The Lunar New Year is the most important holiday on the calendar for many of the nearly 1.5 million people of Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese descent in Southern California, according to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles. The chamber estimates that more than 110,000 people attended last year’s parade.

The city of Alhambra postponed a similar event scheduled for Saturday, citing fears over the new strain of coronavirus that’s killed more than 250 people in China.