SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – The Lunar New Year Parade is coming back to San Francisco Saturday.
The pandemic didn’t just cancel last year’s parade, but it also caused an increase in violent attacks on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
It’s why there will be more police officers on patrol for the Lunar New Year’s events.
The tiger in the Chinese zodiac is a symbol of strength and bravery. Those celebrating say that’s especially important to think about after a year of increased violence.
The 1.3 mile Lunar New Year Parade is coming back to San Francisco Saturday. Crews are building the floats and preparing for record crowds.
“Based on us selling out of our bleacher tickets, I would imagine this event is going to be very very popular,” William Gee said.
William Gee is in charge of coordinating the bleachers for the city’s Lunar New Year Festival and Parade. He expects between 300,000 and 500,000 people will be gathered along sidewalks watching the floats go by.
“We want to present an environment that is just going to be fun and safe for everyone and that is really the whole goal of producing and making sure that this event comes back alive this year,” Gee said.
With an alarming amount of violent attacks against Asian Americans, the San Francisco Police Department has promised an increased presence during and after the parade.
“They have considered this, they have thought about this and yeah they are going to kind of beef up presence and also have more patrols and things like that so that people can actually get home safely from the event as well,” Gee said.
Gee says the pandemic hasn’t just caused an increase in crime against Asians but has also impacted tourism in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
He’s hoping for some normalcy in the New Year.
“There’s businesses that couldn’t survive the past two years. We’re hoping that this event actually brings tourism back to the city, brings tourism back to Chinatown,” Gee said.
Gee says in addition to the parade there’s also a photo contest that the public can take part in, taking photos of the six tiger sculptures set up around the city until Saturday.