Lunar New Year 2025 in Montreal: the best ways to celebrate

Every year, Montreal’s Lunar New Year Parade joyously makes its way through Chinatown bringing traditional dancing lion and dragon performances to the streets. Starting at 11 a.m. on February 1, the parade usually features the dancing prowess of the renowned Phoenix Arts School, as well as the Montreal Fo Guang Shan and Montreal Chan Lion Dance Club. The parade marches through Chinatown, located between De la Gauchetière Street, Saint-Urbain Street and St. Lawrence Boulevard. Look for the vibrant red lanterns and special performances like the lion dance. The parade will finish in Sun Yat-sen Park at 1 pm.

Three special cocktails, an exclusive menu and free festivities? Home to some of the best chefs and restaurants in the city—including the winner of Top Chef Canada Season 11—Time Out Market Montréal is serving up a limited-edition menu to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and you’re not going to want to miss it. Plus some amazing cocktails, and all the free family-friendly activities happening in the Montreal Eaton Centre.

Discover art creations at Sun Yat-Sen Park, the Cultural Center, and on the streets, plus cultural Performances on Sunday, February 2, 2025, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Savour special dishes created by Chinatown restaurants, and join interactive workshops and activities to strengthen community bonds and share the joy every day!

Montreal’s Chinese restaurants are where you'll find some of the best food in the city. Many traditional Lunar New Year foods are associated with layers of symbolism and good luck. Auspicious foods include dumplings, noodles, fish and sweet rice balls—just to name a few—which can be found at Montreal's delicious Chinese restaurants.

Sun Yat-sen Park will be specially lit up and decorated for the Lunar New Year. Visitors will be able to purchase a ribbon, write a wish for the new year on it, then hang it from a branch of the Wishing Tree—and discover whether 2025 will be a year of luck and fortune with a Kau Chim (Chinese fortune sticks) reading. Feeling chilly? Warm up on the benches thanks to the standing heaters and free hot tea.

The 2025 Chinese New Year’s Gala will feature more than a hundred artists, all performing on the same stage on Saturday, February 1, 2025, at Place Des Arts.

Commemorating the 20^th anniversary celebration of the Phoenix New Year Gala, this year's theme is: "As the Phoenix sings and the sun rises, the birds shall return to their nests," a message of unity, hope, and rejuvenation.