5 ways to celebrate Chinese New Year in Las Vegas

Gong Hay Fat Choy. And welcome to the Year of the Dog. (Which, if you’re keeping score, is the 11th position in the Chinese zodiac).

Las Vegas may not be in China, but if you’re in the mood to celebrate Chinese New Year, you’re in the right spot, with dozens of places — and almost as many ways — to mark the occasion.

Vibrant floral displays mark the holiday in Strip casinos, along with traditional lion and fan dances. Cultural festivals offer colorful lanterns and celebratory parades. There’s even an invitational art exhibit showcasing unique interpretations of the Year of the Dog.

A few ways to light up the lunar new year:

Lights up on China Lights

The China-based China Lights lantern festival, which has played multiple cities around the globe, makes its Southern Nevada debut this year, continuing through Feb. 25 at North Las Vegas’ Craig Ranch Regional Park.

More than 40 oversize lantern displays featuring high-tech lighting and animation — led by an illuminated dragon 200 feet long and three stories high — stretch along trails. Beyond the lights, the festival includes performances from acrobats to a quick-change mask artist, along with Asian cuisine and artisans demonstrating Chinese crafts.

Tickets are $12 to $20 (plus a $10 surcharge for Friday’s Chinese New Year festivities); the festival is open from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays through Feb. 25. For full details, visit chinalightslv.com.

Takin’ it to the streets

CNY in the Desert’s kickoff celebration Friday at Fashion Show mall may be sold out, but there’s still plenty of time to celebrate the Year of the Dog at the group’s sixth annual Las Vegas Spring Festival Parade, which begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at Fremont and 11th streets (continuing to Seventh Street).

A parade after-party follows at Downtown Container Park, which will host free children’s activities from noon to 5 p.m. At 11:30 a.m., a lions blessing kicks off multiple performances by dance troupes, kung fu teams and other community cultural groups.

Downtown Summerlin, meanwhile, celebrates the Year of the Dog at 6 p.m. Friday with a parade featuring a decorative Chinese dragon weaving through the outdoor mall. A percussion ensemble will accompany the dragon and lion dance; traditional fan dancers and Asian-themed stilt-walkers also will participate.

Floral decor and more

The Year of the Dog bursts into bloom with free floral displays at various Strip casinos.

Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens continues its Chinese New Year celebration through March 3. In addition to a larger-than-life dog as a centerpiece, 17 other dogs pop up throughout the display, which also features flowing fountains, thousands of I-Ching coins, colorful lanterns — and more than 22,000 flowers — around the clock.

Commemorating the Year of the Dog, the horticulture team at The Venetian and the Palazzo consulted a feng shui master before creating Vincenzo Li, a 16-foot Chinese shar-pei installation symbolizing good fortune and protection.

Aria’s main lobby, meanwhile, features celebratory decor including a 196-foot dragon hanging from the ceiling and weaving its way through a money tree made up of golden coins that symbolize wealth and luck. And a 22-foot dragon — decked out in thousands of LED lights — returns to the Forum Shops at Caesars.

Dancing on the Strip

With multiple casinos on (and beyond) the Strip, Caesars Entertainment resorts will host multiple lion dances to spread good fortune. Starting Friday and continuing throughout February, lion dances — starting at the porte cochere and continuing through the casino — will take place at Caesars Palace, Bally’s, The Cromwell, the Flamingo, Harrah’s, The Linq Hotel, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood Resort and the Rio.

The Venetian and the Palazzo, meanwhile, kick off the lunar new year Friday with a ceremonial lion dance featuring firecrackers, plus dancers and drummers in authentic clothing, starting at 3 p.m. at The Venetian porte cochere, winding through both lobbies and casinos and the Palazzo’s Waterfall Atrium before ending at the latter’s porte cochere.

And at 6 p.m. Sunday, a traditional dragon and lion dance will be performed at Wynn Las Vegas, starting at the south valet entrance porte cochere, continuing through the casino and concluding at the Encore front desk.

Bringing art to the party

Las Vegas’ annual invitational exhibit honoring Chinese New Year shifts the focus to the Year of the Dog — as interpreted by dozens of artists who have created paintings, mosaics and other works inspired by the lunar new year. The free exhibit continues through March 24 at the Historic Fifth Street School Mayor’s Gallery, 401 S. Fourth St. It’s open by appointment only; to schedule one, visit artslasvegas.org or call 702-229-2787.

Contact Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.