Thousands of revelers from throughout the Bay Area and beyond converged on San Francisco’s Chinatown Saturday for Lunar New Year celebrations.

The official first day of the Year of the Snake was in late January, but this weekend brought the peak of festivities, culminating in Saturday night’s annual parade along Market Street. The NBA All-Star Weekend also takes place in San Francisco this year, making for a lively weekend in the city at a time when concerns over its revitalization following the COVID-19 pandemic are front of mind.

“The Year of the Snake symbolizes rebirth and renewal,” said Malcolm Yeung, executive director of the Chinatown Community Development Center. “Every year the snake sheds its scales, it puts on new skin and it’s reborn…this was particularly important because this is a moment in which San Francisco and California could always use some rebirth and renewal and we’re really hoping the energy from the Year of the Snake is captured by the city as a whole.”

The parade route began on Second and Market streets and continued for over a mile through Chinatown on Kearny Street. The celebrations continue on Sunday with a street fair on Grant Avenue until 5 p.m. Nearly 100 organizations participated in the parade, with colorful floats, signs and other decorations displayed as onlookers cheered and waved at the performers and dancers. Banners flying over Grant Avenue also acknowledged that this is the first year under new Mayor Daniel Lurie, who ran a campaign as an outsider to local government.

A portion of Grant Avenue — where the parade was held until the 1970s — was closed to cars Saturday for the annual Community Street Fair. Attendees completely filled the street for several blocks, filtering in and out of neighborhood shops and stopping at the scores of booths selling snacks and holiday goods.

“I think it’s great, especially with the NBA All-Star weekend, there’s a lot more people coming in,” said Evan Wong, a local content creator and videographer selling merchandise from a booth.

“For us, it’s kind of like a full circle moment because when we were younger, we used to watch the parade,” Wong said of himself and his business partner. “Then years later, we would be in the parade as lion dancers, and now we’re here at the booth meeting the community.”

Simon Huong grew up in the city and regularly attended the fair and parade.

“I moved to the East Bay about seven years ago,” Huong said. “I’m taking my son out to our second fair together just to see and expose him to the culture.”

Huong said they planned to watch the parade on television as he’s worried it will be too loud for his 3-year-old.

Some visitors expressed hope that the new year will bring new opportunities.

“I’m going to be graduating from university this semester, and that’s going to be a bit nerve-wracking,” said Tricia Nguyen, who went to the fair with her mother and her film camera to capture the festivities. “I’m really hoping that a lot of things turn out well, especially with the job market and all.”

The festivities will continue in San Francisco with events and street fairs in accordance with the moon’s 12 phases through March 2.