SURREY - On the Chinese calendar, the "Year of the Horse" will gallop in this week.
A number of events will celebrate the Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, which is officially marked on Friday, Jan. 31.In Surrey, Central City Shopping Centre and Neptune Seafood Restaurant are celebrating the occasion with cultural fun and festivities on Saturday, Feb. 1, starting at noon. Attractions include a traditional lion dance and performances by past Central City Model Search winners, Miss World Canada delegates, Fresh Groove dance group and a Chinese instrument music trio.Elsewhere, DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society will hold its "Year of the Horse" celebrations at noon Tuesday, Feb. 4, outdoors at #1107-7330 137th St., Surrey. The event will feature a performance by Choy Lee Fut Hung Hsing Koon, led by Peter Wong.On Friday evening, the White Rock and South Surrey Chinese Society will host its annual gala at Bell Performing Arts Centre. The event is sold out.In Vancouver's historic Chinatown district, the annual parade will feature dance performances, floats, firecrackers and more, starting at 11 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 2. The "Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival" event is staged by Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver (CBA), founded in 1895 by "six pioneers who saw a need to establish an organization that would provide mutual support and leadership within the Chinese Canadian community," according to a post on the association's website. For more details, including a map of the parade route, visit cbavancouver.ca.While in Vancouver, check out the Flight of the Dragon film experience at the FlyOver Canada facility at Canada Place. Patrons are seat-belted in for a thrilling "flight" over the Chinese landscape during the limited run of the film, until March 2. Details are at www.flyovercanada.com, or call 604-620-8455.