![Parade participants](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/SF_Chinese_new_year_p1060753.jpg/150px-SF_Chinese_new_year_p1060753.jpg)
The San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade is an annual event held in San Francisco. Held approximately two weeks after the first day of the Chinese New Year, it combines elements of the Chinese Lantern Festival with a typical American parade. First held in 1858, it is the oldest and largest event of its kind outside of Asia, and the largest Asian cultural event in North America. The parade route begins on Market Street and terminates in Chinatown.