Lunar New Year 2025 in Philly: 21 Parades, Events & Dinners

Through Monday, February 17, 2025

Everyone’s favorite kung-fu-fighting panda ushers in a month full of Lunar New Year festivities at the Comcast Center Campus, including:

• DreamWorks Po’s Awesome Lunar New Year Adventure at the Comcast Technology Center: The Comcast team debuts a brand-new immersive experience inside The Universal Sphere in honor of Lunar New Year, starring none other than Kung Fu Panda’s Po. Join the Dragon Warrior, his mentor Master Shifu and his father Mr. Ping as they journey to Panda Village for the lantern festival — and leave with your very own DIY sky lantern (through February 17, 2025).

• Meet Kung Fu Panda’s Po at the Comcast Technology Center: Skadoosh! Kung Fu Panda’s lovable martial arts master Po stops by the Center City skyscraper for photos and face time with aspiring kung fu warriors and fans of the movie (Saturdays through February 15, 2025).

• Lunar New Year Celebration at the Comcast Technology Center: The Comcast Campus’ Lunar New Year fun culminates with a festive day of activities. In addition to the cinematic experience in The Universal Sphere and meet-and-greets with Po, enjoy lion dance performances by the Philadelphia Suns, a drawing class with DreamWorks story artist Jon Magram (Trolls Band Together, Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken), and holiday-themed face painting and calligraphy (Monday, February 17, 2025).

Through Sunday, February 23, 2025 (select dates)

The Dumpling Academy’s popular Chinese Lunar New Year Handmade Dumpling Making party is led by expert instructor Yin, who guides participants in preparing savory dumpling fillings before wrapping, cooking and enjoying them together. Attendees also learn how to make Lunar New Year tangyuan desserts and enjoy complimentary dim sum. The exact event venue is disclosed after registration.

Those “Fabulous Philadelphians” of The Philadelphia Orchestra — celebrating their 125th anniversary in 2025 — return to host the annual Lunar New Year Celebration again this January. The quasquicentennial offering features the full ensemble, plus special guests performing a family-friendly repertoire of selections in honor of the Year of the Snake. This vibrant event, blending Eastern and Western musical pieces and often incorporating traditional Chinese instruments and compositions, brings a reflection of the city’s diverse AAPI community to the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts’ Marian Anderson Hall.

Celebrate the Year of the Snake early with ssspecial Lunar New Year programming at the Please Touch Museum. The family-friendly day includes a special storytime, scaly snake sculpting, kid-safe firework-rocket-making workshops and traditional Chinese Lion Dance performances by the Philadelphia Suns. Tickets are required.

Learn more about Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Tibetan and other Asian cultural traditions — and grab some holiday treasures — at the 44th annual Lunar New Year edition of the Penn Museum’s signature CultureFest! series. The Year of the Snake celebration includes live music, dance and family-friendly activities like storytelling and make-and-take art, plus the grand finale: a performance of the traditional Lion Dance. The event, held in collaboration with Penn’s American Center for Asian Students and Center for East Asian Studies, is included with timed tickets for regular museum admission.

The Main Line Art Center in Haverford presents a free Lunar New Year Celebration ushering in the Year of the Snake with hands-on art activities for all ages, a martial arts demonstration and an outdoor performance of the iconic Lion Dance by the Philadelphia Suns.

Celebrate Lunar New Year, or Tết in Vietnamese, alongside loved ones and new friends at an unforgettable celebration of Vietnamese culture and cuisine at Le Viet. Helmed by Philadelphia foodie, culinary connector and Visit Philadelphia staffer Roland Bui, Com.Unity brings together six talented chefs — including Jacob Trinh of Little Fish Philly, Thanh Nguyen of Gabriella’s Vietnam, and Tuan Phung of Bánh Mì and Bottles — for a delicious six-course, family-style dinner. The celebratory evening is rounded out by a traditional lion dance performance and vendors market featuring local AAPI-owned businesses.

January 28 & February 2, 2025

Philly’s Chinatown community gathers in the streets for two Lunar New Year parades led by The Philadelphia Suns. A late-night Lunar New Year’s Eve celebration kicks off at 10 p.m. from 10th and Spring streets on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. And on Sunday, February 2, 2025, a daytime parade follows the same route at 11 a.m. The parades consist of music, lion dancing, drumming and firecrackers — all meant to bring good luck to the local community.

Welcome a year full of good fortune, good health and great food at Malaysian chef Ange Branca’s South Philly restaurant, Kampar. Available with advanced reservation anytime between January 29 and February 1, 2025, this special Chinese New Year tasting menu showcases centuries of Chinese-Malaysian food traditions and ingredients that are symbolic of the festival. The multi-course dinner features Ange’s mother’s 18-ingredient Yee Sang or “Prosperity Salad;” Poon Choy, a nine-layer seafood and meat dish symbolizing abundance; salted fish rice; and tong sui, a Cantonese dessert soup.

The South Philly attraction and hotel marks the beginning of the new year with time-honored traditions and tasty restaurant specials.

• Food Specials and Cocktail Menu at Luk Fu: The Live! Casino and Hotel’s contemporary Asian restaurant celebrates the season with a limited-edition Lunar New Year menu featuring ‘Lucky’ Stir Fry with Chinese sausage, cured pork belly and lotus root; braised abalone and broccoli; oven-baked salty chicken; and an array of libations, including Beijing Bellinis and Lychee Martinis.
• Cai Quing Ceremony & Lion Dancers: Experience a traditional Cai Qing ceremony, a lion dance where the mythical creature tosses lettuce leaves into the crowd for good luck and prosperity, and parades around the casino, complete with red envelopes (a token of good fortune) for guests (Saturday, February 1, 2025).

For the fourth year in a row, Ember & Ash and EMei come together to celebrate Lunar New Year in style. Tickets to the communal, family-style dinner include a platter of festive snacks, five fusion courses and two desserts. Dishes include char siu porchetta, mapo tofu with crispy eggplant and more

Visitors to Philly’s iconic Reading Terminal Market are in for a treat at 11 a.m. this Saturday when the Philadelphia Suns launch into an exciting dragon dance to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Celebrate the new year’s arrival — and get a little shopping done while you’re at it — during this free afternoon of family fun at the Fashion District. This Lunar New Year celebration features Chinese lion dancers from the Philadelphia Suns, kids crafts, festive decor and photo ops. Plus, the participating Fashion District shops offer Digital Red Envelopes with special deals from January 24 through February 16, 2025.

Bundle up for this free outdoor celebration at The Rail Park featuring refreshments, family-friendly activities, waist drumming, tai chi and a lion dance performance from the Philadelphia Suns. The event is open to the public and registration is recommended.

The Hung Gar Kung Fu Academy takes the Lunar New Year festivities to the Media streets with a traditional lion dance performance. The fiery performance kicks off on State Street in front of the Plum Street Mall.

Ring in the Year of the Snake in Old City with a lively lion dance performance, kid-friendly crafts, red envelope surprise giveaways and a free dumpling workshop with Michael Chow from Sang Kee Peking Duck House. After you’ve downed your dumplings, stick around for the free Electrical Spectacle Light Show, a round of Philly Mini Golf with Love and some friendly street curling.

Before gliding across the ice rink outside of City Hall, pop into the Rothman Orthopaedics Cabin for festive Lunar New Year menu items from Ellen Yin’s Wonton Project, including steamed wontons and vegetable spring rolls. Outside on the plaza, participate in a calligraphy activity, free children’s crafts and a red envelope giveaway for the first 100 guests. Plus, watch captivating performances from traditional Chinese dancers, opera singers and a giant lion dance by the Philadelphia Suns.

The area’s top shopping destination with over 450 stores, King of Prussia, a Simon Property Mall, explodes with festive color and energy in honor of the Year of the Snake when a traditional dragon dance performance comes to the massive mall.

The historic farmhouse of acclaimed author Pearl S. Buck invites you and your family in for a jam-packed Lunar New Year celebration. The day is filled with music, crafts, games and live entertainment, including traditional dance performances. Food trucks — like Humpty’s Dumplings, Tokyo Sushi, Wrap ʼN Roll and Blue Wren Coffee — are on deck for snacks, and the ticketed event also includes optional tours of the Pearl S. Buck Historic Estate, with items on display like the typewriter she used to write the 1931 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Good Earth.

Among the many, many Asian and AAPI-owned businesses in Philadelphia, you’ll find amazing restaurants offering Asian fare representing the cuisines of Japan, China, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and beyond. Celebrate Lunar New Year with a feast of top-tier sushi, mouthwatering hot pot, traditional Tibetan momo or any other delicious dishes prepared by great chefs. With a little help from some Philly experts, you don’t even have to go searching for it. Take a tour with local foodies familiar with Chinatown’s dining scene. Or go your way with the help of our roundups on Asian-owned restaurants in Philadelphia and the best restaurants in Chinatown.