How to Celebrate the Year of the Snake in Las Vegas

In Chinese astrology, The Year of the Snake is marked by intuition, instinct and thoughtfulness. This February, Las Vegas resorts will prepare for the Chinese New Year, celebrating Asian culture with stunning showcases of décor, traditional Chinese cuisine and activities to commemorate The Year of the Snake.

The year of the Snake installation at the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens at Bellagio features a prosperous money tree with oversized gold coins hanging from branches. In addition, live performances of traditional folk and pop music with authentic Chinese instruments, including the erhu, ruan and pipa will take place on a Chinese junk boat from 5 to 6 p.m. daily. The Conservatory design is inspired by Feng Shui, and will be on display through March 3.

Keeping with tradition, the Venetian and Palazzo will host a unique Year of the Snake display through Feb. 25. Taking center stage will be a 98-foot long animated blue snake named Sophie Chow, inspired by her Italian home and Chinese New Year heritage. There will also be a giant 38-foot cherry tree with more than 193,000 flowers, 28 custom dancing lanterns and traditional Chinese coins representing wealth displayed throughout the atrium.

For those seeking relaxation and stress release, the Spa at Mandarin Oriental is celebrating three exclusive treatments available from Jan. 23 to Feb. 28. Spa attendees can chose from “Double Destiny,” a two-hour ceremony for couples seeking good karma; “Destiny of the Water Serpent,” a 90-minute full-body massage releasing tension and increasing circulation; or, the Chinese Zodiac manicure and pedicure, tailored to a guest’s personal element for a customized hand and/or foot massage on vital energy points.

The world’s first Nobu Hotel, Nobu Caesars Palace, will open its doors on Feb. 4 as the first guests arrive for the Lunar New Year celebration. The restaurant and lounge adjacent the hotel will offer three teppanyaki tables (the first of Nobu’s restaurants in the U.S), a sushi bar and a private dining area along with a large lounge and bar. The non-gaming, boutique hotel experience paired with a marquee location in the heart of Caesars Palace will allow guests access to world-class entertainment, restaurants and shopping.

The Las Vegas Spring Festival: Chinese New Year in the Desert will host a series of Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean cultural celebrations Feb. 8-10 throughout the Fremont Street Experience in historic downtown Las Vegas.

This one-of-a-kind venue will welcome the Vietnamese Tet New Year on Feb. 8 with an opening ribbon cutting ceremony at 6 p.m. with Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman and community and business leaders. The Lohan School of Shaolin Lion will usher in the Tet New Year with the blessing of the monks, a welcome by Shrine of Our Lady, and a grand opening performance, featuring Miss Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) USA contestants in traditional costumes. Various international performances will also be on showcase at the 3rd Street stage.

The downtown entertainment complex will celebrate Korean Seol-lal on Feb. 9 with performances from the Lohan School of Shaolin, followed by a welcome hosted by the Korean-American Chamber of Commerce Las Vegas (KACCLV) and other community organizations.  Entertainment will continue into the evening as the talent portion of the Miss AAPI USA is featured.

The Lohan School of Shaolin will feature various performances throughout the day on Feb. 10, followed by a welcome from the Las Vegas Chinese American Chamber of Commerce (LVCAC).  Evening highlights will include the interview and personality portions of Miss Asia Nevada and the crowning of Miss AAPI USA.

Furthermore, in an effort to bring the largest Chinese Lunar New Year celebration in the U.S. to Downtown Las Vegas, McDonald’s will host the Las Vegas Spring Festival Parade Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. The purpose of the McDonald’s Las Vegas Spring Festival Parade is to bring the community together and showcase the most extravagant and colorful floats.  This celebration will commemorate the rich history and celebrate the most important holiday of the Asian community.

This year, the resident shows are also joining in the celebration. To celebrate the eighth year of Kà by Cirque du Soleil, the dance troupe will parade through the MGM Grand on Sunday, Feb. 10 at 5 p.m.  Traditional dragon and lion dances, as well as other celebratory events at various resorts, will kick-off festivities and welcome The Year of the Snake. Celebrations will include:
• Feb. 9 – Drummers and firecrackers will kick off the dragon dance at 3:30 p.m. at the Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino and Palazzo Las Vegas. The celebration will wind through the Venetian lobby, casino, Waterfall Atrium, where dancers will circle the snake display before ending at the Palazzo porte cochère.

•Feb. 10 – The traditional fan dance and distribution of red envelopes will take place at the Chloe rotunda at the Shoppes at the Palazzo beginning at 1 p.m. The performance will culminate with the distribution of 500 red envelopes, each containing a $10 gift card, chocolate gold coins, or other surprises.

• Feb. 11 – A celebratory dragon will dance throughout Aria and Crystals at CityCenter, the high-end fashion destination, from 1 to 3 p.m. stopping at various retailers that have chosen to feed the hungry mystical creature with money and lettuce. Dancers will begin at Aria as they bless the building for the coming year, and a monk will bless Crystals on the new snake-themed flower carpet.

•Feb. 12 – Firecrackers will light the way as the dragon and lion dance starts at 6 p.m. under the porte cochère at Wynn Las Vegas. Starting at the south valet entrance, the precessions will make its way through center of the Wynn into Encore Las Vegas and end at Encore’s front desk.

• Feb. 12 – Traditional Chinese lions and dragons will prance through the Bellagio at 6:30 p.m. ending at the porte cochère.

• Feb. 13 – Several dragons from the Lohan School of Shaolin will dance through the lucky citrus trees adoring the casino at the Gold Coast at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. The percussion procession and various characters will pull lettuce from ceilings as a symbol of luck for the entire year.

Sandy Lam, the multi-talented superstar will take center stage at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Feb. 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. as she sings her top hits dating back to the mid-80s.  This special performance will feature popular songs from her hit “Wildflower” album.

In addition to stunning décor and exciting entertainment, a number of restaurants on and off the Strip will prepare specialty menus and dishes for the holiday celebration. Bellagio will host the prestigious Diaoyutai State Guesthouse Culinary festival Feb. 14-16 beginning at 7:30 p.m. This is only the second time in history that the Diaoyutai has hosted this event in the United States. The event consists of the culinary team of the guesthouse in Beijing, China, coming to Tuscany Kitchen at Bellagio and re-creating the experience that prestigious world leaders, VIPs and royalty have had when being hosted in the guesthouse in China. Chef Hao Baoli and staff from Diaoyutai will prepare an exclusive multi-course dinner for lucky guests, available at $500 per person.

Monte Carlo’s Dragon Noodle Co. & Sushi Bar will feature a lucky $28.88 dinner with three dishes: Gong Hei Fat Choy (braised dried oyster and black moss with oyster sauce), Ha Ha Smile (manila clam with black bean sauce), and Budda Delight (Chinese Napa, bean thread, black fungus, black moss, snow peas and Chinese mushroom).

Fleur by Hubert Keller at Mandalay Bay will offer a four-course prix-fixe menu with jumbo lump crab egg drop soup, shrimp dumpling with sweet mayo and garlic ginger soy, seared duck with hoisin plum sauce with gailan broccoli, and five spice pineapple tart with jasmine tea ice cream.

Rice & Company at Luxor will assemble a thoughtful prix-fixe menu and will debut the Great Wall roll available from Feb. 10-24. The four-course meal ($65 per person) offers three entrées: orange peel chicken, tossed in mild chili sauce; beef and broccoli in a garlic oyster sauce; and garlic shrimp with stir-fried Asian vegetables.

China Poblano by José Andrés at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas will host a Chinese New Year menu with goose, duck, Phoenix shrimp, monk, XO scallop and long beans, lions head with saffron and Xinjiang uyghur lamb chops.  The menu will be available Feb. 1-28.

Delectable Chinese New Year menus will also be available at Beijing Noodle No. 9 at Caesars Palace, MOzen Bistro at Mandarin Oriental, Wing Lei at Wynn Las Vegas, Ping Pong Pang and Noodle Exchange at Gold Coast, and many more.

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