Three parks are offering Lunar New Year festivals this winter, starting with Disney California Adventure on Friday, January 26. This year's festival will welcome the return of the park's China, Korea, and Vietnam food marketplaces, serving Xiao Long Bao (pork soup dumplings), Kimchi Bokkeumbap (vegetable fried rice), and Chao Tom (Sugar cane shrimp skewer), among other small plates and beverages. Paradise Garden Grill will be serving its seasonal menu, including Pho soup and Banh Mi sandwiches. The "Hurry Home" preshow returns for World of Color, and Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession will run in front of the Paradise Gardens. The event runs daily through Sunday, February 18.
Universal Studios Hollywood's Lunar New Year runs February 10 through the 25th and brings Po's Village to Universal Plaza, where guests can order noodles and dim sum from Mr. Ping’s Noodle Shop. Po and Tigress from Kung Fu Panda will be posing for photos, as will the Mandarin-speaking Megatron and Gru's Minions, in Chinese attire. (What could go wrong?)
SeaWorld San Diego's Lunar New Year event runs the same dates and includes Asian food selections, an acrobatics show, and — because it's the Year of the Dog — a Puppy Garden where visitors can watch puppies at play, while the guests learning about adoption options from local shelters.
Knott's Berry Farm is celebrating its Peanuts characters with a new event that runs on weekends starting January 27 through February 25 (plus on President's Day, as well). Knott's Peanuts Celebration features photo ops and new shows with the characters, an "Animation Academy"-style Peanuts Sketch School in the Bird Cage Theatre, and Woodstock's Music Festival (I see what they did there...) on the Calico Stage at night.
Later this winter, Disney, Knott's, and SeaWorld bring back their annual food festivals, starting with the California Food & Wine Festival at Disney California Adventure on March 2. The event will feature 13 food and beverage marketplace kiosks as well as cooking demonstrations on the Hollywood Land Stage on Thursdays through Sundays. Disney also is offering $99-a-seat, reservation-only events at the Hyperion Theater featuring celebrity chefs Guy Fieri, on March 9, and Robert Irvine, on March 30. The festival runs through April 12.
Knott's Boysenberry Festival runs March 16 through April 8 and will feature a wide variety of sweet and savory Boysenberry dishes offered throughout the park. SeaWorld's Seven Seas Food Festival runs March 17 through April 15 and will include dishes from around the world as well as a new "7 Daring Flavors" challenge, featuring "some of the world’s most exotic ingredients." Stay tuned for more on those events in the weeks leading up to their start.
Tomorrow: We look at the late-winter festivals at Walt Disney World and Orlando's theme parks.
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