For those who just don’t want the good times to end, there’s another celebration on the horizon – Chinese New Year.
On Feb. 19, Burnaby’s Chinese community will celebrate the beginning of a new year, the year of the sheep.
Businesses are inviting residents to drop by Hastings Street on Saturday, Feb. 21 to celebrate the Chinese New Year in the Heights.
From noon to 3 p.m. lion dancers, dressed in traditional and colourful garments, will parade along Hastings Street performing blessings for merchants to bring prosperity and good luck.
Volunteers with the Heights Merchants Association will be handing out “lucky” red envelopes to shoppers in the area, Isabel Kolic, the association’s executive director, told the NOW.
“We put in treats and prizes,” she said. “So, if you’re a shopper that day, you can look out for us and get your red envelope and maybe it will contain a prize.”
The afternoon event is a bit of riot, according to Kolic, and not one to be missed.
“It’s always a really energetic day and the merchants, no matter what cultural background they come from, they all get into it. It’s a really nice bridge-building event, we’ve always enjoyed it.”
For more information on the event, visit www.burnabyheights.com/events and click on “Lunar New Year.”
– Cayley Dobie
