Pop by the LA Chinatown Firecracker Festival

The run/walk is sold out, but the two-day festival is ready to (lion) dance.

What to Know

  • Saturday, Feb. 24 and Sunday, Feb. 25
  • Chinatown
  • Free

What is the sound that a firecracker makes, from your point of view?

Is it a straight-up, straightforward pop? Or something more akin to a fiesty fizz? A memorable combination of the two, with some snap thrown in?

However you describe it, it's a sound that's synonymous with the LA Chinatown Firecracker, an annual run/walk that traditionally happens around the close of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Southern California.

But before the multi-week welcome of the Year of the Dog ends, prepare for some sparkle, some fun, a lot of community come-togetherness, a few lion dances, some Taiko drumming, and, of course, the popular, healthy, get-out-and-move event.

It's an event that's now sold-out, but the two-day festival, which is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 24 and Sunday, Feb. 25, is free and open to all. It's a party that extends from morning to mid-afternoon on Feb. 24, while Sunday is all about a morning celebration, with a noontime ending.

The Central Plaza is the place, and on the Main Stage? The Immortals Lion Dance starts it all off, joyously, while the Jazz Roots Experience Band, Manea Hula, and the Millennium Dance Complex Company and Crew will follow over the two-day span, along with a number of other excellent bands and troupes.

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The Opening Ceremony, where all of those famous firecrackers pop, glitters early-early on Sunday morning, keep in mind, ahead of the run/walk. And will you see a lot of pups about if you attend the festival on Saturday? That's the day of the Paw'er Dog Walk, and while online registration is closed, count on seeing a whole line-up of canine cuties, pooches ready to honor the Year of the Dog in the way they know best: By being deeply dog-like and utterly adorable.

Times of the festival, run/walk, and all of the auspicous, healthful, pupful, firecracker-wowza must-knows? Pop, pop, pop: Your info is right here.

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