Snowy Lunar New Year parade brings ‘warmth on a cold day’ as Year of the Rabbit celebrated in Uptown

Under a steady stream of snow flurries, hundreds of revelers gathered Saturday afternoon to ring in the Year of the Rabbit at the annual Lunar New Year Parade in the Uptown neighborhood.

Floats featuring colorful dragons, pandas and lanterns joined students from the neighborhood’s schools, drum lines and even a miniature CTA train as they all paraded west along Argyle Street in celebration.

Despite the cold and snow, attendees in red sashes and rabbit ears enjoyed the festivities and wished each other a happy new year.

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Attending the festivities for the first time were Timothy Sullivan and Chorthip Peeraphatdit, who brought their son out to witness the parade, which they said was made even more magical by the softly falling snow.

“I love that everyone was able to come together like this today,” Sullivan said. “This has been a bundle of joy and warmth on a cold day.”

At home, Peeraphatdit said the family has been celebrating the New Year by eating traditional foods for the holiday, including moon cakes, dumplings and steamed fish.

Another paradegoer, Erin Mezzeffi said she enjoyed the dancing dragons, while her 6-year-old daughter, Evelyn, favored the acrobats from Chicago Wheel JAM spinning along the street in large wheels.

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Another first-timer, Jasmin Muñoz came in from the suburbs with friends.

“It’s a super cool experience, especially to see something I haven’t before,” Muñoz said. “And it’s awesome that people are still out here today despite the snow. I just needed to bundle up and grab a coffee.”

Following the parade, attendees gathered to watch more performances at Argyle Street and Winthrop Avenue, where members of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association danced in dragon costumes, the Kaotic Drumline performed and students from Swift Elementary School recited a poem about Lunar New Year in both English and Chinese.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Ajumma Rising, a local group honoring ajummas, a Korean word for middle-aged married women, danced to a mash-up of K-Pop songs.

Additional security was provided following last week’s mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, in which 11 were killed and 9 wounded during Lunar New Year festivities, but the larger police presence wasn’t particularly noticeable, nor did it dim the joyous celebration.

“Despite what happened in California, the Asian community in the U.S. is strong, the Asian community in Chicago is strong [and] the Asian community right here in Uptown is strong,” said Mia Park, a member of Ajumma Rising, following their performance.