With an estimated attendance of over 500,000, over 100 marching participants booked, 28 elaborate floats in place and four main streets set to be closed, three women are planning one of the biggest events in town.

The Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco is named one of the top 10 parades in the world, according to the International Festivals and Events Association. For coordinators Karen Eng and SF State alumni Beverly Lee and Donna Ng, this is the busiest time of the year.

“We started planning in late October-early November and there is still a lot of work to be done,” said Eng, who has been the public relations director for 12 years. “Things change all the time. Just when you think the parade’s been around for all this time, things will remain the same. But it just doesn’t always. ”

Lee, Ng and Eng plan every detail of the parade from writing the telecast scripts for the live broadcast on KTVU to ordering enough portable toilets to be distributed throughout the course of the Chinese New Year events.

Ng has been the parade’s school coordinator for 17 years. She started volunteering in 1991 as a parent for Sherman Elementary School, where her son attended at the time, and took her current role to help behind the scenes in 2003.

Within the hundreds of performers will be traditional lion dancers, dragons, bands and children, participating from schools all over the Bay Area. Ng works to bring together schools and sponsors, hire choreographers, order costumes for performers and coordinate all schools that apply to be in the parade.

“The most exciting part about my job is when I go home and rest,” Ng said jokingly. “[My job] is actually really fun. I get to meet different people, work with sponsors, teachers, students and see every aspect of it come together.”

Along with a line of entertaining floats that will provide music and dance, this year’s estimated three and a half-hour Year of the Rat parade will feature a special Olympic-themed float in honor of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the newly crowned Miss Chinatown U.S.A., 19-year-old Ni Jiang of Bellevue, Washington and the much anticipated grand finale of the 201 foot Golden Dragon (“gum lung”).

The Golden Dragon was made in Foshan, China and is relatively new to the parade. It made its debut eight years ago in 2000, the year of the dragon. It is built in 29 segments, draped in silk and velvet, designed on bamboo skeletons and displays an assortment of colorful ornate detailing.

It will take 100 people from Leung’s White Crane, a lion and dragon dance and martial arts school to carry the Golden Dragon.

“It’s an honor to carry the ‘gum lung’ and take care of the dragon,” said Eng. She said the Southwest Chinese New Year Parade, which begins at 5:30 p.m., is one of the few nighttime parades and is considered the biggest parade outside of Asia.

“It’s very festive because it’s night time and everything’s illuminated,” said Eng. “[The parade] is so popular and people come from all over the world to see this parade. And all over the United States as well.”
Political science major Jamie Lewis remembers her first and only Chinese New Year parade experience in 2005, the year of the rooster, to be enjoyable.

“I remember there were a lot of fireworks and some even blew up the skirt of one of my girlfriends,” said Lewis, 21, with laughter. “It was just really fun.”

For Mikako Suzuki, who is an international student from Japan, this will be the first time she will attend the parade. She is going with her boyfriend to see his father make an appearance on a float.

“I’ve heard it was a huge parade and that there will be so many people,” said Suzuki, 19. “I’m pretty excited about it.”

The work is not over for these women who consider themselves “the guts of the planning committee.” Although the five months of preparation will soon be complete, Lee, Eng and Ng will not be relaxing as the parade begins. They will work even harder distributing themselves among different parts of the parade route to keep things under control.

“The best part about it all is being able to expose more people to the Chinese culture,” said Ng.

The parade will be on Feb. 23 from 5:30-8:00 p.m. It will begin at Second and Market streets and televised on KTVU Channel 2. View the parade route and get more information at www.chineseparade.com or call (415) 986-1370.