Family-Friendly Lunar New Year Events In Orange County
The Lunar New Year is coming up on Feb. 10. This is one of the widest celebrated Chinese holidays on the calendar, filled with traditional food, decorations and family togetherness. There are many events in Orange County for families to celebrate the Year of the Snake.
Disneyland Lunar New Year Celebration
1313 S. Disneyland Drive
Anaheim, CA 92808
disneyland.disney.go.com
Downtown Disney will be holding the biggest Lunar New Year Celebration in Orange County from Feb. 8 through 10 with special food offerings at selected restaurants, bright colorful decorations and entertainment.
Families can celebrate the Lunar New Year at Disney California Adventure on Feb. 8 through 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be festive decorations throughout Disney California Adventure, Disney Character photo opportunities, a Mulan Chinese New Year procession and live entertainment.
There will be special food offerings available at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure during the Lunar New Year Celebration. Start by enjoying pork spare riblets, chicken and vegetable pot stickers, edamame, ginger milk tea and almond cookies at the Lucky Fortune Cookery. Then savor in the "Year of the Snake" bread available at the Boudin Bread Cart and Pacific Wharf Cafe. Finally, enjoy a Tsing Tao beer at Rita's Baja Blenders or almond cookies with ginger milk tea at the Pacific Palisades Coffee Cart.
Pretend City Chinese New Year Celebration
29 Hubble
Irvine, CA 92618
pretendcity.org
Bring your children to learn about the Chinese New Year at Pretend City. The child-focused event starts at 10:30 a.m. with a story time. The event continues throughout the day by teaching children how to cook dim sum, and the Chinese Zodiac memory game. The event is included in the museum's admission price.
Lakeview Senior Center Celebration
20 Lake Road
Irvine, CA 92604
CityofIrvine.org
Celebrate the Year of the Snake with the Lakeview Senior Center in Irvine with entertainment and traditional Chinese cuisine. All proceeds from this family-friendly event will be donated to the Irvine Senior Services. The celebration takes place on Friday, Feb. 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost is $10 per person.
Bowers Museum of Cultural Art Events
2002 N. Main Street
Santa Ana, CA 92706
Bowers.org
Families can enjoy a full cultural experience when visiting the Bowers Museum for the Lunar New Year. There will be a special storytelling hour on Feb. 3 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. The author of the featured book will be available at the storytelling hour for a special book signing and coloring sheets will be provided for the children.
Irvine Chinese School Performance
Irvine Barclay Theatre
4242 Campus Drive
Irvine, CA 92612
TheBarclay.org
More than 200 Chinese school students will perform at the Barclay Theatre on Feb. 16 from 7 to 9 p.m. Children will perform cultural dances and display the talents they have learned over the past year in Chinese School. Tickets can be purchased by calling (949) 559-6868.
Lion Dance and Kung Fu Demo
The Dragon Institute
34241 Pacific Coast Highway
Dana Point, CA 92629
Ocwingchun.com
Families can enjoy a spectacular Lion Dance Performance and complimentary Kung Fu demos on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 10 a.m.
Shelby is an Orange County Native, and is a freelance writer for multiple magazines and websites around LA and Orange County. She can be found writing daily about the hottest happenings at the OC Mom Blog or on Twitter @OCMomBlog.