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Lunar New Year is one of the busiest weeks on the Palo Alto calendar for families, even though the city does not throw a big street festival. Instead the celebrations are spread out. The library hosts a party for young children. A community group runs a fair at Mitchell Park. A historic garden brings in lion dancers. Restaurants serving Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean food fill up for family dinners. For the big parades and multi-day festivals, people drive to San Jose or ride Caltrain to San Francisco.
This guide covers what Palo Alto and nearby cities published for 2026 and what to expect in 2027. Lunar New Year falls on Saturday, February 6, 2027, which starts the Year of the Goat. Organizers had not posted 2027 dates in October 2026, so treat the 2026 dates as a guide to the usual timing and check each organizer in January. For the rest of the month, see our February guide.
Dates and traditions
Lunar New Year begins on the new moon between late January and mid February. In 2026 it fell on Tuesday, February 17, the start of the Year of the Horse. In 2027 it falls on Saturday, February 6. The holiday is celebrated as Chinese New Year, as Tết in Vietnamese communities and as Seollal in Korean families, each with its own foods and customs.
Common traditions you will see at local events include:
- Red envelopes. Elders give children money in red envelopes, called hongbao or lì xì, for luck.
- Lion and dragon dances. Performers in a lion costume dance to drums and cymbals to scare off bad luck. Lion dancers often visit shops and restaurants for good fortune.
- Food with meaning. Dumplings, whole fish, long noodles and sticky rice cakes stand for wealth, abundance, long life and progress.
- Decorations. Red lanterns, paper cuts and couplets go up on doors and in shop windows.
Local celebrations spread over several weekends. In 2026 the first Palo Alto event came almost four weeks before the new year and the last ones in our area ran into early March.
Celebrations in Palo Alto
Palo Alto City Library
The library's Lunar New Year Celebration is the most family-friendly event in town. In 2026 it ran on Sunday, January 25, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the El Palo Alto Room at the Mitchell Park Community Center, 3700 Middlefield Road. Performers started at 3 p.m. The city listed crafts, an outreach table, light snacks and visits from the Junior Museum and Zoo. It was aimed at children ages 3 to 11 and their families, with first come, first served seating. Watch the library's events calendar in early January for 2027. Our libraries guide covers the Mitchell Park branch.
Lunar New Year Fair
In 2026 the city listed a free Lunar New Year Fair at the Mitchell Park Community Center on February 22, organized by the Palo Alto Asian American Connection. A 2027 date had not been posted in October 2026. Check the city calendar from January.
Gamble Garden
Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden on Waverley Street held a Lunar New Year morning on Saturday, February 14, 2026, from 10 a.m. to noon. Local press listed a lion dance, storytime, crafts, tours and a scavenger hunt, with advance registration required. February is also when the garden's early blossoms appear, which makes a pretty setting for the lion dance.
Avenidas
Avenidas, Palo Alto's nonprofit for older adults, held a celebration for seniors on February 28, 2026 at the Cubberley Community Center, with an RSVP deadline two weeks ahead. Our resources for older adults page has more on Avenidas.
Stanford
Next door, Stanford student groups and Stanford Shopping Center hold their own celebrations each February, including lion dances. Our guide to Lunar New Year at Stanford covers them.
Nearby Peninsula events
Neighboring cities fill in the rest of the calendar. These are the 2026 events reported by local press. Expect similar timing in 2027, a little earlier since the new year itself comes earlier.
| City | 2026 event | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain View | City celebration at the Community Center, 201 S. Rengstorff Ave., with performances, crafts and food trucks | Feb. 28 |
| Mountain View | Firebird Youth Chinese Orchestra at the library | Jan. 31 |
| Redwood City | 15th annual celebration at Courthouse Square with taiko, martial arts and lion dancers | Feb. 28 |
| Woodside | Family Day at Filoli with lion dances and games, paid admission | Feb. 28 |
| Santa Clara | Two-day festival with a parade, lion and dragon dances and more than 200 vendors | Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 |
| Los Altos | Library storytimes and lion dancing | Feb. 9 and 14 |
| East Palo Alto | Market with more than 30 vendors at Bloomhouse EPA | Feb. 7 |
The Redwood City event is an easy trip by Caltrain, since Courthouse Square is a short walk from the station. See our downtown Redwood City guide. Filoli's family day pairs well with a walk in the winter garden. Our Filoli guide covers tickets and parking.
San Jose and Tết
San Jose has one of the largest Vietnamese American communities in the country. Tết is a major event there. In 2026 the San Jose Lunar New Year Tết Festival, produced by UStar Productions, ran from Friday, February 20 to Sunday, February 22 at Eastridge mall on the city's east side. Entry and parking were free. The program listed lion dancers, a singing contest, a fashion show, K-pop dance groups, carnival rides and food booths.
The San Jose Museum of Art held a Lunar New Year community day in 2026 as well. For shopping and eating, Visit San Jose points visitors to Little Saigon: Grand Century Mall, Vietnam Town on Story Road and Lion Plaza in the Evergreen area. In the weeks before Tết these centers sell flowers, candied fruit and red envelopes. Our San Jose day trip guide has more on the city.
San Francisco
San Francisco's Chinatown is the center of the region's biggest Lunar New Year celebrations, with a street fair and an evening parade that draw huge crowds in the weeks after the new year. The 2027 Chinese New Year Parade is on Saturday, February 20, 2027, according to the parade organizers. Our Chinese New Year Parade guide has more on planning for it. If you go to the parade, take Caltrain and plan for packed streets and late trains. Our San Francisco guide has tips for the day.
The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco also runs Lunar New Year programming and takes it on the road. In 2026 its educators presented a free Year of the Horse program at the South San Francisco library on February 19 and a virtual session for the Mountain View Library on February 25, both on traditions and symbolism across Asian cultures. Check the museum's calendar for 2027. To see Chinatown with someone who knows it, you can book a San Francisco Chinatown food tour.
Where to eat
Lunar New Year is a dining holiday as much as anything. Families book big round tables for reunion dinners. Many Chinese restaurants offer banquet menus with whole fish, roast duck and longevity noodles. Book early for a group dinner, especially on the weekend closest to the new year. Our Chinese food guide lists restaurants in town. For Tết, our Vietnamese food guide covers pho and bánh mì spots, though for traditional bánh chưng rice cakes the markets in San Jose's Little Saigon are your best bet.
Asian supermarkets around Palo Alto stock red envelopes, decorations, mandarin oranges and nian gao in the weeks before the holiday. Bakeries sell pineapple cakes and other gift boxes.
Good to know
- Lion dances are very loud. Bring ear protection for babies and children who are sensitive to noise.
- Private firecrackers are illegal in Palo Alto, including during Lunar New Year.
- February is the wettest month of the year here. Pack a rain jacket for outdoor fairs and parades.
- Library and garden events cap attendance or need registration. Sign up as soon as listings appear.
Planning a Lunar New Year visit
A good Lunar New Year weekend from Palo Alto combines one local event with one big festival. Take the kids to the library celebration or Gamble Garden on Saturday, then spend Sunday in San Jose's Little Saigon or San Francisco's Chinatown. Book dinner reservations as soon as you know your dates. If you are visiting from out of town, February is a quieter month for hotels outside of Presidents' Day weekend, so you can compare Palo Alto hotels without the price spikes of June or September.
Frequently asked questions
When is Lunar New Year 2027?
Lunar New Year falls on Saturday, February 6, 2027, the start of the Year of the Goat, sometimes called the Year of the Sheep. Celebrations around the Bay Area usually run for several weekends afterward, often into late February or early March.
Does Palo Alto have a Lunar New Year celebration?
Yes, several smaller ones. In 2026 the Palo Alto City Library held a family celebration on January 25 at the Mitchell Park Community Center and the city listed a free Lunar New Year Fair there on February 22, organized by the Palo Alto Asian American Connection. Gamble Garden hosted lion dancing on February 14. Dates for 2027 had not been posted in October 2026.
Where is the biggest Lunar New Year festival near Palo Alto?
San Jose and San Francisco host the largest events. In 2026 San Jose's Lunar New Year Tet Festival ran February 20 to 22 at Eastridge with free entry and parking. San Francisco's Chinatown celebrations draw the biggest crowds in the region.
Where can kids see a lion dance near Palo Alto?
In 2026 lion dancers appeared at Gamble Garden in Palo Alto, the Redwood City celebration at Courthouse Square, Filoli's Family Day in Woodside and the Mountain View Community Center celebration. Lion dances are loud with drums and cymbals, so bring ear protection for very young children.