Chinese New Year in full swing in Las Vegas Valley

Goodbye, rabbit. Enter the dragon.

To celebrate the Chinese New Year that began Monday, the Chinatown Plaza, 4255 W. Spring Mountain Road, plans to host its annual Chinese New Year Celebration and Asian Food Festival scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

There are more than 30 different vendors with merchandise representing various Asian countries planned for this weekend at the plaza on Spring Mountain Road between Decatur and Valley View boulevards. Entertainment is set to include traditional Asian music, dancing, martial arts, acrobatics, arts and crafts, free drawings and exhibitions, calligraphy and fortune telling.

Performances are scheduled between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children 6 to 12. Kids 5 or younger are free.

Half of the plaza's parking lot will be closed for the event. To accommodate the expected crowd of more than 5,000, event coordinator Tina Lee said extra parking will be available at Bank of America on the northeast corner of Spring Mountain and Wynn roads and at Wells Fargo on the southwest corner of Spring Mountain Road and Arville Street.

The Chinatown Plaza's management group first organized the celebration 17 years ago. This year's event will be especially popular, Lee said, because the dragon is a lucky animal in Chinese culture.

The year of the dragon is so highly regarded in Chinese culture that many parents attempt to schedule the birth of their child during it, Lee said. There are 12 different animals in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The year runs through Feb. 9, 2013.

Sue Fawn Chung, an associate professor of history and chair of the Asian Studies Committee at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, attends the festival regularly and encourages her students to do the same.

"It's a lot of fun," Chung said. "It's different. You learn a lot about Chinese culture and tradition. You get to taste Chinese food -- my students say that is the best part."

There will be traditional cuisine from China, Japan, Vietnam, Hawaii and more. Chung said the vendors in the past have allowed for sampling before buying, as much of the food will be new to visitors.

In years past, the event's organizers have had the zodiac animal on hand. Chung has seen a rat, rabbit, tiger and even a Komodo dragon 12 years ago.

Chung said many Strip casinos will have Chinese New Year celebrations as well, especially those that cater to a large Asian population.

While many started celebrations Monday, others still have festivities in the works.

The Bellagio conservatory has a Chinese display with dragons available through March 4. Live music performances are scheduled from 5 to 6 p.m. daily.

The Palazzo will feature a 128-foot, 8,000-pound red and gold dragon at the waterfall atrium inside The Shoppes at Palazzo. The dragon will exhale fire and smoke at 1 and 5 p.m. daily through Feb. 5.

Downtown Las Vegas plans to host festivals from 6 to 11 p.m. through Jan. 28 at the Fremont Street Experience. The nightly events will feature dragon and lion dances, Asian food, arts and crafts, music and karaoke competitions on the First Street stage. For more information, visit cnyinthedesert.com.

For more information about the celebration at Chinatown Plaza, call 221-8448.

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.