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Grand Rapids hosting 1st ever Lunar parade and festival

It all starts outdoors at 5:30 this evening--That's when the Lunar New Year’s Celebration at Gillette Bridge along with the dragon parade will take place.

"There’s going to be 4,000 fire crackers that are going to light up the whole bridge," organizer Ace Marasigan said.

Marasigan has worked with the Chinese Association of West Michigan, the host as well as a series of sponsors and hosts for the bridge celebration and two more spots.

“You know lion dance performance off the bridge and then we’re going to head off to Old National Bank," Marasigan said.

Despite being the first time, it’s done downtown, the DeVos portion of the event, which features the same performances as the bridge and Old National Ban, has been sold out for weeks.

Marasigan says if you can’t make it but would like to know about similar events or get involved visit GRAsianFestival.com and elevateGR.com. 

Mariano Avila is WGVU's inclusion reporter. He has made a career of bringing voices from the margins to those who need to hear them. Over the course of his career, Mariano has written for major papers in English and Spanish, published in magazines, worked in broadcast, and produced short films, commercials, and nonprofit campaigns. He also briefly served at a foreign consulate, organized for international human rights efforts and has done considerable work connecting marginalized people to religious, educational, and nonprofit institutions through the power of story.
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