12 Ways To Celebrate Lunar New Year In Las Vegas (Year of the Horse)

Las Vegas is a city that enjoys celebrating cultural diversity, and Lunar New Year (or Chinese New Year) is one that they’ve been celebrating on the Strip for quite some time now!

Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays in various Asian cultures and is known as the “Spring Festival” or “Chinese New Year” in China, “Tet” in Vietnam and “Seol-lal” in Korea. Many Asian countries, including Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia, and Tibet, also celebrate Lunar New Year!

As February rolls around, the Las Vegas Valley gets ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year. And this year, we’re welcoming The Year Of The Horse!

This year’s festivities begin around February 17 and will extend over multiple days. The special Lunar New Year menus? Those’ll last even longer!

Expect lots of dragon dances, parades, bright and festive displays at various resorts like The Bellagio and The Venetian, and restaurants offering special dishes to celebrate. You’ll find a lot going on throughout the city.

Here’s a look at where you can catch them.

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Attend the Dream Asia Festival

Dream Asia Festival is taking over the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center February 13–15, 2026, landing right on Valentine’s Day weekend and Lunar New Year season!

Expect a packed, walk-around-style festival with 80+ Asian food vendors serving everything from street snacks and desserts to regional specialties you don’t usually see in one place. Live performances run throughout the day, including K-pop stages, Lion Dance, Japanese Taiko, and large-scale cultural showcases, plus cosplay contests, games, and shopping from 30+ merchandise and anime vendors.

It’s easy to turn this into a date night, thanks to Valentine’s Weekend Specials like the Date Night VIP Bundle, which includes two VIP tickets and a special Valentine’s gift from Dream Asia.

If you’re celebrating Lunar New Year and want something more interactive than a sit-down meal, this is a fun way to eat, explore, and wander together for a few hours.

General admission starts at $12 (+ fees) while VIP starts at $45 (+ fees).

See The Displays At The Venetian

The Venetian takes their Lunar New Year celebrations seriously! During Lunar New Year, you’ll find celebratory elements in almost all of the common spaces near the lobby.

Start by admiring the grand display in the Waterfall Atrium. They actually consult a feng shui master to ensure every cultural detail has been considered. How honorable of them.

From there, try to catch their annual lion dance, a spectacle of fireworks, dancers, and drummers winding their way through the lobbies and casinos.

Stay for a Lunar New Year meal at Mott 32

The Venetian’s Mott 32 has curated experiences full of tradition and big energy. On February 17 – 18 , Mott 32 will be offering live performers, DJs, and a special menu.

And if you’re a brunch lover who also happens to love Chinese food, you’re in luck. Start your celebration with Mott 32: Limitless, taking place February 17-22. It’s the bougiest of buffets where you get to savor unlimited elevated favorites served from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Prefer dinner? A special menu for Lunar New Year will be offered nightly from February 17 through March 3.

The Palazzo

Located just next door to The Venetian (the two hotels are pretty much connected) is The Palazzo’s welcoming Lunar New Year display of this year’s zodiac, red lanterns, and lucky coins amid Samuel G. Bocchicchio’s unique water sculpture “Acqua di Cristallo”.

The photos are of 2023’s Year of the Dragon, but we fully expect this year’s display to be just as spectacular (if not better).

Since this display is just steps away from The Venetian’s, you’ve gotta stop by both if you’re headed here.

See Bellagio’s Lunar New Year Display

The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Garden’s annual Lunar New Year display is a must-see for anyone who happens to be on the Las Vegas Strip! It’s jaw-droppingly beautiful and changes every year.

They’ve unveiled their newest display to celebrate the Year of the Horse, running until Feb 28th this year. The exhibit uses colorful floral arrangements and vibrant décor to pay homage to the highly anticipated Year of the Horse.

The display thoughtfully draws inspiration from the roots of Asian architecture, folklore and culture, with each element designed to symbolize the promise of a favorable and lucky new year.

According to Bellagio officials, the new display features 23,000 fresh and preserved flowers to make the children and 12,000 plants across the entire display.

They’re also featuring celebratory menus at The Garden Table, including an “Eight Treasures Dim Sum” lunch and a “Five Prosperity” dinner set.

Lion dance at Resorts World

Enjoy festive decorations and watch as the traditional Dragon and Lion Dance makes its way through the Resorts World property and brings good luck. Join in on the festivities at the Plaza Entrance on February 21st at 4PM to kick off the Year of the Horse!

As for food and drinks, Genting Palace and Lady M are both featuring exclusive Lunar New Year dining options.

At Gatsby’s Lounge, you can toast the Lunar New Year with two celebratory sips: the Crimson Horse Highball and Lucky Red Lantern, both expertly crafted to celebrate prosperity, good fortune, and bold beginnings.

Enjoy a decadent dim sum buffet at Genting Palace

The fanciest of the fanciest, Genting Palace comes back this year with a limited-time Lunar New Year experience featuring an elevated buffet of handcrafted dim sum, fresh seafood, an elegant carving station, daily soup, and signature Cantonese entrées, alongside a festive dinner à la carte menu of authentic, family-style dishes designed for gathering, abundance, and celebration.

This is a limited time experience, running from Feb 13-22 at 5pm-10pm. Reservations are required and can be made on OpenTable.

Chinese New Year In The Desert

The 15th annual CNY in the Desert event is back in Las Vegas for a three-day event starting Thursday, February 19, through Saturday, February 21. Opening night kicks off with Shin Lim’s “The Art of Illusions”!

The citywide festival started back in 2012 and has become one of the largest Lunar New Year festivals in the US, expanding across iconic Las Vegas destinations, including The Palazzo Theatre, Palette Tea Lounge, Downtown Las Vegas, and Downtown Container Park.

Now entering its 15th year, Chinese New Year in the Desert has evolved from a local gathering into an officially recognized “Nevada 150” event. It has also received national recognition, with Forbes Magazine naming it one of the top 8 places in the U.S. to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Their full schedule of events can be found here.

Fashion Show Mall

Fashion Show Las Vegas is celebrating the Year of the Horse with an upcoming Lunar New Year Festival on Sunday, February 22, at The Great Hall.

Guests will experience a traditional Lion Dance procession, an interactive lantern-making station, a LUSH pop-up experience, and a photo opportunity with the God of Good Fortune during the event, which takes place from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Other Lunar Year events at the mall:

• Immersive Décor and Lantern Display: Jan. 26 through Mar. 3
• Lucky Red Envelope Promotion: Jan. 26 through Mar. 3

Lion Dances At Various Casino Hotels

A couple of other hotels in Las Vegas will welcome the Lunar New Year and the Year of the Horse with commemorative lion dances and colorful décor.

The traditional dances will start with a blessing and continue throughout the casino floor. Here’s where and when to find them:

• The STRAT: The Strat will be celebrating Lunar New Year with a lion dance performance by Las Vegas Kung Fu Academy on Thursday, February 19, starting at 6:30 p.m.
• Palace Station: Tuesday, February 17 at 7:30 PM – The lion dance will begin at the North Valet entrance.

Downtown Summerlin’s Annual Lunar New Year Parade

Downtown Summerlin is celebrating the Year of the Horse with its annual Lunar New Year parade on February 17, 2026 at 6 PM.

Along Park Centre Drive, the parade honors the Year of the Horse with vibrant performances including fan dancers, stilt walkers, and an oversized dragon, presented in partnership with BEST Agency and Lohan School of Shaolin.

Starting in early February, experience festive décor throughout Downtown Summerlin, featuring oversized 2026 photo-op letters at the Macy’s Promenade and a larger-than-life Chinese dragon in the Dining Arroyo.

Desert Breeze Annual Spring Festival

For something more local, Desert Breeze Community Center is presenting the 5th Annual Spring Festival, a one-day festival celebrating the Lunar New Year at Desert Breeze Community Center. This festival will take place on Sunday, February 22nd, 2026 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There will be food truck vendors, pop up vendors/artisans, workshops, games, and cultural performers.

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Lunar New Year Traditions

Looking to celebrate in your own home? Here’s a little overview of how to do it based on various cultural traditions!

As this holiday is the start of the new year, many traditions are designed to determine luck for the rest of the year. A spotless home is essential to set up a clean slate for the upcoming year and clear residual bad luck from previous years. Red is the holiday color, with red lanterns and decorations hung up to symbolize prosperity and luck.

Red envelopes containing money are given out to children and elders, but not just any ol’ bills. The envelopes should be filled with brand-new cash in even numbers—considered even luckier.

Throughout many different cultures who celebrate Lunar New Year, the food they eat during the holidays is super symbolic. In some Chinese regions, rice cakes, dumplings, and noodles are eaten as they symbolize luck and long life. Oranges are also popular as a gift of abundance across cultures.

People who celebrate Vietnamese New Year, or Tết, enjoy glutinous sticky rice filled with pork and mung beans (bánh chưng) for familial loyalty. People who celebrate Korean New Year, or Seollal, eat rice cake soup (tteokguk) for luck.

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