Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. And right on schedule, the Year of the Snake winds its way in. While many—from Eve to Indiana Jones—have strong opinions about snakes, the Year of the Snake is probably just what we need right now.
The Lunar New Year’s snake can be clever and curious, and it can also be wise and calculating. However, when augmented with this year’s element, wood—which suggests creativity and imagination—it becomes a year to use that cleverness and cunning to express one’s creativity in bold, meaningful and impactful ways, meaning it’s a great year for artists to make their mark.
The North Bay Celebrates
The lunar year begins on the second new moon after the winter solstice—and in 2025, that’s Wednesday, Jan. 29. Opening this potent year of creative expression are multiple events for everyone in the North Bay. They include the Marin Chinese Cultural Association’s (MCCA) Chinese New Year Celebration Dinner on Saturday, Feb. 8, in San Rafael, where attendees will celebrate with a dinner of traditional foods and performances, including lion dancers, traditional guzheng and more. Complete listings below.
Further north, a special free celebration will be held on Sunday, Jan. 19, at The Museum of Sonoma County and hosted by the museum and the Redwood Empire Chinese Association (RECA). It will also include lion dances, traditional Chinese music, a Xinjiang cultural performance and a special tea ceremony.
Families with small children may also attend the Lunar New Year Festival on Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County, where attendees are encouraged to bring their own picnics. Activities include traditional Chinese dancers, lion and dragon dances that children can join, calligraphy and traditional paper cutting.
For the Family
Whether it’s in celebration of one’s own heritage or in appreciation of the diversity of the area where we all live, it’s important to include family in the festivities.
Hsiao-Ching Chou says in her book, Feasts of Good Fortune: 75 Recipes for a Year of Chinese American Celebrations, from Lunar New Year to Mid-Autumn Festival and Beyond, “As a parent, I never know what practices and traditions stick with my two kids and their five cousins…But passing on traditions requires someone to receive them with intention. It’s also the responsibility of the bearer to invite the next generation into the narrative, to make space for the perspectives of those who will carry on our histories.”
Here in the North Bay, there’s no shortage of ways to celebrate these traditions. Following are a few ways one can mark the Lunar New Year around the Bay Area—perfect for families, artists and anyone ready to welcome the Year of the Snake.
2025 Lunar New Year Events
Lunar New Year 2025 Celebration
2-4pm, Sunday, Jan. 19
Free.
Presented by the Museum of Sonoma County and the Redwood Empire Chinese Association (RECA)
Museum of Sonoma County, 425 Seventh St., Santa Rosa
707.579.1500, museumsc.org
2025 Lunar New Year Festival
10am-2pm, Saturday, Jan. 25
Children’s Museum of Sonoma County
1835 W Steele Ln., Santa Rosa
cmosc.org/events/lunar-new-year-celebration
Infants free, adults and children $20, museum members $12.
Discounted admission available for seniors, military, teachers, EBT/WIC/MediCal beneficiaries.
Traditional Lion Dances
11-11:30am, Saturday, Jan. 25
San Anselmo Town Hall Plaza, 525 San Anselmo Ave., San Anselmo
bit.ly/town-hall-san-anselmo
Red Panda Acrobats with Wayne Huey
4-5pm, Monday, Jan.
Belvedere Tiburon Library Founders Room, 1501 Tiburon Blvd., Tiburon
bit.ly/red-panda-tiburon
Registration is not required.
Lion Dancing with the Sonoma Vietnamese Association
2-2:30pm, Sunday, Feb. 2
Free for all ages.
Central Santa Rosa Library, 211 E St., Santa Rosa
bit.ly/lion-dance-sr
MCCA Chinese New Year Celebration Dinner
5:45-9pm, Saturday, Feb. 8
San Rafael Community Center, 618 B St.
Go to website for tickets.
bit.ly/MCCA-New-Year
