This Saturday’s Chinese New Year parade will provide much of the same excitement as in past years with an illuminated, glowing night parade passing through the streets—but this year a new element will add another layer of awe. After the parade and the usual impressive fireworks show, there will be a choreographed drone light show with 500 LED-lit drones, according to the San Francisco Examiner.
This light show will take place over the waters of the Embarcadero, with the drones coming together to form images that hark to the Year of the Snake and traditional Lunar New Year iconography.
It should start around 8pm on February 15 and last about 10 minutes. The drones will require eight people to operate them as they fly up from outside Pier 32. The drones’ images may be as wide as 600 feet in the sky and as high up as 600 feet, making them visible from many spots around the bay. If you’re driving on the Bay Bridge (just don’t stop in the middle of the road), you’ll probably get a great view, as will people in tall buildings near the waterfront. Our advice? Book a room at the San Francisco Hyatt Regency with Regency Club access so you can be in that 360-degree rotating chamber at the top for an exquisite view. The idea of seeing a snake formed by lit drones writhing across the sky, bringing luck for 2025, is an exciting concept. If you can’t attend in person, you can see the show on TV by tuning to ABC7 San Francisco starting at 6pm to cover the parade, fireworks show and drone light show. Hopefully, clear skies will keep the drone show possible.
Even if the drone show doesn’t take off, the parade itself is a huge part of San Francisco pride, and it bills itself as the largest Chinese New Year parade outside of Asia and one of the few remaining nighttime illuminated parades on our continent. The parade route starts at 5pm at Market and 2nd Streets, goes up Geary to circle Union Square, comes down Post and turns left on Kearny Street to end at Columbus Avenue. The route is about 1.3 miles, and you can watch for free anywhere along the path.
The fun continues throughout the weekend with a community street fair on the 15th and 16th. The Lunar New Year observances even go into next month with the Chinatown YMCA Run on March 2. Learn more here.