Toronto is getting a massive festival to celebrate the Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year 2023 marks the Year of the Rabbit, symbolizing grace, beauty, calm and peace in Chinese culture. Luckily, Toronto's Chinatown will be hosting a massive festival to celebrate.
Unlike the solar-based calendar that celebrates the New Year on January 1, the Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, is based on the lunar calendar, with dates varying from year to year.
Hosted by the Chinatown BIA, the weekend of the Lunar New Year (Jan. 21 and Jan. 22) will be jam-packed with activities at both Chinatown Centre and Dragon City Mall.
Cultural festivities include lion dances, Chinese folk dancing, zodiac fortune telling, Chinese calligraphy workshops, and much more.
There will also be tons of local vendors selling traditional Chinese eats present, as well as a Chinese New Year cooking workshop so you can learn how to cook some traditional dishes eaten during the celebration yourself.
For those who love Mahjong, the festival will be hosting a tournament for the tile-based game. Try to beat out the aunties and uncles who spend their weekend afternoons playing the game for a chance to win up to $500.
You can find the Lunar New Year celebrations taking place at 222 Spadina Avenue (Chinatown Centre) and 280 Spadina Avenue (Dragon City Mall) in just a few weeks.
This year, the Lunar New Year falls on January 22.
Information about vendors and program schedules have not yet been released, but an announcement is expected soon.
