On Sunday, February 21st, from 11 a.m. to Noon, Squirrel Hill-based organizations and the Chinese community of Greater Pittsburgh will co-host the Lunar New Year Parade in celebration of the Lunar New Year–also known as the Year of the Red Fire Monkey.
Featuring stunning costumes, dancing, music, marching bands, traditional lanterns and Chinese and Thai Dragons, the parade will begin at Philips Avenue and Murray Avenue, and will run up Murray toward Forbes Avenue to end at Darlington Street.
Lunar New Year began in China more than 4,000 years ago and is widely celebrated in East and Southeast Asia. The Asian diaspora has expanded the festivities into an annual worldwide event, celebrated by millions of Asian Americans, and by many non-Asian Americans, in the United States.
More than 300 participants will be in the parade including local dignitaries; Police Commander of 4th District Daniel Herrmann, City Councilman Dan Gilman, City Councilman Corey O’Connor, Debra Lam, Chief of Technology and Innovation, City of Pittsburgh, Betty Cruz, Initiatives Manager for Mayor’s Office, State Senator Jay Costa, State Representative Dan Frankel and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.
Dr. Freddie Fu of UPMC Sports Med Complex is the parade’s Grand Marshal. A Hong Kong native, Dr. Freddie Fu has been an instrumental part of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine for several decades. He is known worldwide for his pioneering surgical techniques to treat sports-related injuries
JF&CS is a proud partner of this exciting community event. We hope you’ll join us this Sunday–and even better, the weather is expected to be great!
Organizers and partners of the celebration and events include Uncover Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Center, the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition, Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Pittsburgh, Organization of Chinese Americans, Pittsburgh Chapter, Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, NextGen:Pgh, Carnegie Public Library, Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Chinese School, Confucius Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Pittsburgh Asian Studies Center.