The best Lunar New Year events in Melbourne

Every year, the Melbourne Chinatown Association welcomes thousands of revellers to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Chinatown on Little Bourke St. The massive one-day festival will include live performances on stage, including a lion dance, Dai Loong Dragon parade as well as colourful traditional dress, food, music and more art and culture from Melbourne's Chinese and Asian communities. The free festival will run from 10am to 8pm on Sunday, February 2. Find out more about the event here. 

Federation Square's stage will be filled with cultural performances all day on Sunday, February 9, from Tai Chi to K-Pop. From 12pm to 4pm, head to the heart of Melbourne to celebrate the new year. There'll lbe dragon and lion dances, traditional cultural performances and more. See the details here. 

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is putting on a special Lunar New Year performance that blends together the traditions of western and eastern masterworks. This year, the event will take place at Hamer Hall on February 8 and the program will feature pieces by composers like Zhao Jiping and Zhou Tian. Purchase your tickets here.

Welcome the Year of the Snake at the NGV with two full days of art, food, activities, and performances for all ages. There'll be lion dances in the garden in the garden on both days, to usher in good luck for the new year. There'll be several musical performances over the weekend, including the Chinese Beijing Opera and traditional Bian Lian. Plus, free talks and tours, craft workshops and mahjong game sessions will be on all day, as well as DJs providing the soundtrack for the celebrations. Find out about the full program here. 

If you're keen to hit the dancefloor this Lunar New Year, head to Footscray for this party celebrating queer asian culture and arts. On January 29, Pride of Our Footscray will host a party with a 100 per cent LGBTQI+ asian line-up, combining live performances with new year traditions with a queer twist. It's a night for the LGBTQI+ asian community, friends and allies. Find out more here. 

Crown Melbourne will come alive with a loaded line-up of food and entertainment to bring in the Year of the Snake, from January 29 to February 17. The Atlantic restaurant will offer a special curated menu, and up until February 9 the atrium will be covered in colourful Zodiac-themed decor. There'll also be daily dragon and lion dance performances, as well as martial arts displays. Find out more about the celebrations here. 

Melbourne's western suburbs have huge, thriving multicultural communities, so it makes perfect sense that there are incredible celebrations happening in the west for Lunar New Year. An upcoming highlight of the many festivals happening is the Sunshine Lunar New Year Festival on January 26, which will feature live entertainment, red pocket giveways, Lion and Dragon Dancing, delicious food, children’s rides and market stalls. Braybrook, Williamstown and Wyndham will all also host Lunar New Year events over the coming weeks. 

From January 28 to February 9, QV Melbourne will come alive with stacks of Lunar New Year celebrations, including an interactive Snakes and Ladders experience with a massive chequered board, as a fun way to commemorate the Year of the Snake. Plus, from January 28 to February 2, there'll be lion dances, dragon dances and martial arts performances. The shopping centre's many Asian eateries will also be cooking up a storm to celebrate, including traditional Lunar New Year dishes.