Sssslide into the Year of the Snake with this weekend’s festivities

Get ready to ssssell-abrate with sssspectacular festivities — Chinatown 808’s 2025 Chinatown Festival & Parade is back for its 49th year and with all-day festivities from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25 at ʻAʻala Park. 

The event is presented by American Savings Bank and is usually held the Saturday before the Lunar New Year date, according to Leonard Kam, president of Chinatown 808. He says attendees can look forward to performances, martial arts demonstrations, live entertainment, food and craft vendors and other activities that symbolize prosperity and good luck in the new year.

“There’s the traditional lion and dragon dances that you don’t see all the time,” he says. “The dragons will come out for lunar new year and bestow blessings on those in attendance. We have inflatable animals for the zodiac signs; we’re adding the inflatable snake this year, which is always good for family photos or selfies.

“One of the things we’re proud of is having three stages for entertainment,” he adds. “The lion groups like to come out with their pole dancing; those are always very popular. The celebration is multi-cultural, so not just Chinese dancing, but we have Korean performances and taiko drumming. The lunar new year celebrates all Asian cultures, so we’re trying to be more inclusive with everything.”

The schedule of festivities includes activities and entertainment — including free bouncy houses and lion and dragon dance performances — from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at ʻAʻala Park. Then, at 4:30 p.m., the Lunar New Year parade will start at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol lawn and continue through Chinatown along Hotel Street. Attendees will get to enjoy special appearances by festival queens and their courts, kung fu martial artists, performances by lion dance groups and dragons, local cultural organizations and more.

“We have people lining up on the roads early on for this,” Kam says. “That’s when you’ll probably see the most dragons. We have a brand-new dragon that just got blessed and is ready to perform.”

This year’s event includes more than 50 participating vendors, including Ben Franklin Crafts, Hawaiian Honey Cones, KC Waffle Dogs, Legend Seafood Restaurant, Olay’s Thai Lao Express, Roselani Ice Cream and more.

“I believe we do have some new food vendors this year,” Kam says. “There will be everything from Korean and Vietnamese to Hawaiian food and everything in between.

“One of the vendors was telling their staff, ‘You have to prepare for this one; it’s from morning to night,'” he adds. “We’re very proud of the fact that we can serve the community well and help the vendors.”

While festival attendees park in Chinatown’s municipal parking lots or further away, the festival is partnering with Hawaiʻi Bicycling League to offer free bike valet services to guests to reduce traffic. Bikers can ride their bikes to the festival and check them in for free at the bike valet, Kam says.

“It’s a complimentary service; those who do the bike valet will get a claim ticket,” he says. “Some of the vendors are offering discounts for those who use the bike valet.

“The thrill is always seeing families, especially the young kids, that come out and they get so excited,” Kam adds. “That’s what keeps us going. It’s those moments that make it a worthwhile event for us to do.”

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.