For Chinese New Year, all of the Chinatowns that I know of put on a parade at some point in time. I heard from my family that the parade in Chicago was actually on a Monday a little farther into the new year, but in LA, it was on the first weekend. I went to see the parade that day (not very early admittedly); from what I saw, it had a lot of other ethnic groups marching as well, including dancers, cowboys, etc. as well as marching bands from a lot of high schools around the area.

I didn’t actually spend a lot of time watching the parade, instead walking around Chinatown, where a ton of people were setting off poppers that spewed large amounts of confetti. The whole ground was covered because of the sheer number of poppers that were set off. I also bought some poppers; I enjoy the smaller gunpowder poppers, with packages only as big as your pinky nail.

I also couldn’t resist getting boba in Chinatown – it was a great way to quench thirst while walking around. In addition, I went to the Little Jewel of New Orleans, a nearby convenience store and restaurant, for their Deluxe Crawfish Mac and Cheese. I really couldn’t resist making this stop, because I’m such a religious follower of the Buzzfeed Worth It episodes. While the regular mac and cheese there is good, I would definitely suggest the deluxe, as the extra spices that come with the shrimp and sausages cuts through the rich delicious grease of the cheese very well.

LA Chinatown and Parade