Lunar New Year Festival

Lunar New Year Festival is always a fun time with lots of activities, vendors, and tons of food to check out. If you are not familiar with the International District, this is a great way to get to know the who, what, and where of this awesome area of downtown Seattle. The highlight of the event is hopping between all the participating restaurants for their $ 2.00 taste items. Sure, the lines can be long, but if you take a few minutes to read the maps that are provided, you can easily come up with a plan of attack that will keep you grubbing for a couple hours.

I give this festival four stars more because it is was a new cultural experience for me and was a great deal of fun seeing the Dragon and Lion dances. I could see coming here every year to be tiring though. The crowds in the neighborhood is tremendous and it is a serious effort to see the performers but with persistence you can probably get some good pictures and a view at some point but it isn’t easy and can get exhausting. They have a $ 2 food walk but so many people are waiting in line it feels very overwhelming.
Despite crowds and long waits the festival was still worth while going to.

The Lunar New Year Festival is one of the biggest events held in the I-​District each year. There are two other big festivals, Dragon Fest held in the middle of summer and the Night & Moon Market Festival in the fall. And to lesser degree, Natsu Matsuri held at Uwajimaya Seattle in the summer on another weekend in summer than Dragon Fest.
Comparing these festivals, I would say the Lunar New Year Festival is on par with the Night & Moon Festival. Though the cold weather in January/​February is a deterrent that prevents the festival from being bigger than it is. As a result, there are no food carts/​stands at this event like the others.
This event does still have plentiful entertainment representing several cultures, not just Chinese as well as numerous business tables and a craft tent. Though the lion and dragon dances are clearly the main draw.
Well that and the $ 2 food walk. Basically, 30 something businesses offer up $ 2 food items. Visit 5 spots and you are entered in a drawing for a big prize. This year, it was a free roundtrip ticket to Asia courtesy of Delta.
The food walk is quite a popular event. I have participated in several of them and visited a few places that I had not tried before as a result. If you do decide to try the food walk, expect the restaurants in the main part of Chinatown to be the most crowded. Particularly the spots on King and Maynard.
Fuji Bakery was packed with customers like a Japanese subway train during morning rush hour and the wait for some pot stickers at Fu Lin was a little too long. The wait at Subsand was lengthy, but worth it for a fresh egg puff. I tried to stick to offerings that were easy to eat while walking. Some places were offering barbecue meat dishes which are a bit unpractical to do this.
Overall, I thought this festival was alright. Though I much prefer the Chinese New Year festivities back home in Honolulu. There is just more vendors and street food. Something that can’t be done as well in Seattle because it is too cold at this time of year.

I’ve been going to this Festival since I moved to Seattle. It’s the third and final festival to celebrate the Lunar New Year that I attend. It’s also the busiest.
I’ve loved the entertainment, starting with a lion dance and often including taiko drumming, filipino drill teams, and dragon dances. This year was no exception — there was a good variety for all to enjoy. This part of the planning is very well done.
There’s a tent usually set up at Hing Hay Park. I love that there are kids activities there and often a place for vendors like Uwajimaya to sell seasonal goods. The other vendors often include McDonald’s (although they don’t have a location in the ID, they’re always there giving out free samples and swag). What I know is this: people love free stuff, will stand in a line for 30 minutes to spin a wheel to win a piece of swag they would never buy that is branded with a company’s name, and stand in line to pay $ 2 for a bite of food.
The $ 2 food walk has always held fascination for me. Over the years, I have stopped participating as much since I spend a lot of time in the ID. This year was pretty ridiculous and I only went to a handful of spots. Often, you get a lesser level of service, the actual cost of the item is slightly above $ 2, and you’ll have to wait a long time for it. I’m done with that.
I know it’s great for businesses for hundreds of people to come to the festival for the first time. I find that difficult to navigate. This year, I couldn’t see the stage for the lion dances (and not because I’m short). Despite the terrible weather, there were hundreds of people. Not to mention how disrespectful people are of the neighborhood, ruining baby seedlings that have been planted, standing on recycling bins that are not safe, and littering to no end.
The only reason I went this year is because it is a standing tradition for a number of families I am friends with. I don’t like that businesses have to choose between loyal customers like myself and new comers to the neighborhood. I’ll make that choice easy for them and come some other time.