The best Lunar New Year events in Melbourne

Every year, the Melbourne Chinatown Business Association (MCBA) welcomes thousands of revellers to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Chinatown around Little Bourke Street. The massive one-day festival will include lion and dragon dances, a cultural parade, performances, family activities and market stalls. The free festival, running from 10am to 10pm on Sunday, February 22, will also include Fenjiu cocktails at the Spiegel Haus lookout and Emporium Melbourne’s House of Luck. Find out more about the event here. 

This Lunar New Year, Moondrop, a Shanghai-inspired cocktail bar on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy, is going all out. Expect lucky red envelopes, lion dancers, MSG-spiked cocktails and mahjong nights, all designed to usher in good vibes and great nights. For the entire month, the first 17 guests through the door each evening will score a coveted red envelope with a lucky surprise inside (hello, complimentary cocktails and free dumplings!), so get there early. 

Moondrop will be open on February 17 with traditional lion dancers ushering in good luck from 8.30pm onwards. Head of Beverage and co-owner Jesse Kourmouzis will also unveil a special cocktail menu, along with Moondrop’s signature snowskin and ice-cream mooncakes. Rounding out the month, Moondrop launches its first monthly mahjong night on February 28. Its sister venue, Sleepy’s in Carlton North, will also host its annual Chinese New Year feast on February 20 to welcome the Year of the Fire Horse.

Welcome the Year of the Horse at the NGV International on February 22 with a day chock-a-block with art and activities for all ages. Highlights include creative paper flower folding workshops, special tours (both in Mandarin and English), dragon dances and guzheng performances, mahjong and even a dance party for children. Visitors will also receive complimentary red envelopes to gift to family and friends, and will be able to enjoy a special Lunar New Year menu in the Great Hall, including dumplings, sweet buns and bubble tea. Get the full program here. 

Get ready to eat, dance and celebrate at Dandenong Market on February 22 from 10am to 3pm. For one day only, the site will transform into a vibrant hub of Southeast Asian food, culture and entertainment. Expect bold flavours from across the region, from fluffy baos and sizzling grills to colourful desserts and street snacks. Food lovers are in for a treat with celebrity chef Vincent Lim – also known as Dim Sim Lim, The Wolf of Wok Street – taking to the stage for two high-energy live cooking demonstrations. Throughout the day, enjoy entertainment including DJ Hypnotist, live music, lantern and ribbon performances, and everyone's favourite, the lion dance. 

Every year Melba at the Langham offers a sumptuous Lunar New Year feast, and 2026 is no exception. Inspired by rich flavours and traditions, you will be able to dine on delicacies like jellyfish salad, Shanghainese drunken chicken, century eggs with pickled ginger and plenty more. And don't miss the pork floss cake for dessert. Plus, at 6pm on February 16 there will be a special lion dance performance. You can make a booking here.

Join a beginner-friendly ribbon fan dance workshop. Listen to bilingual story time. Enjoy a live guzheng performance. Decorate your own Lunar New Year lantern to take home. Yes, there's tons to do this Lunar New Year at the Immigration Museum. It all takes place on February 22. Bring the entire family for a day filled with music, storytelling and hands-on activities. Find out more here. 

Running until March 1, Juni Melbourne is celebrating the Lunar New Year with an exclusive seven-plate set menu designed around fire, spice and shared feasting. At just $88pp, you'll get to feast on a prosperity-style Sichuan-cured salmon salad mixed tableside for good luck (you'll want your phone handy to capture that moment), plus crayfish dumplings, steamed hot and sour barramundi chong qing-style and sweet and sour pork with fresh lychees. It all finishes on a sweet note with mango pudding and coconut mousse. Yum! The menu is available for lunch and dinner, and you can book here.

If you enjoy classical music, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has just the ticket to usher in the Year of the Horse. Get set for an unforgettable performance on Saturday, February 21 at Hamer Hall featuring charismatic soloist Mindy Meng Wang. Known for her mesmerising live performances, this Melbourne-based musician will play the guzheng, a traditional Chinese stringed instrument. The performance will also feature Li Biao as the conductor and cellist Zlatomir Fung. Find out more here. 

Crown Melbourne will bring in the Year of the Horse with a vibrant three-week Lunar New Year celebration, running until February 22. Crown’s Atrium will transform into a striking Lunar New Year display, with a bold Year of the Horse installation set beneath a glowing canopy of illuminated lanterns – a perfect photo op for the 'gram. Live performances will add to the buzz, with a roving dragon, lions and drumming acts. 

A special lion dance will also take place on the Crown Atrium Staircase. Weekday shows will be held at 7pm and 9pm, while weekends feature additional performances at 4pm. If it's fine dining you're after, celebrate with specially curated Lunar New Year menus at Silks, 88 Noodle and the Conservatory. 

Given that it's the Year of the Horse, a visit to see Australia's most famous thoroughbred is in order this Lunar New Year, don't you think? Melbourne Museum invites you to gallop in for a visit on Saturday, February 21. From 10am to 3pm, there'll be traditional lion and dragon dances, a performance featuring the ghuzeng and a long ribbon fan dance. There's also a special talk on Australia's most iconic horse, Phar Lap, now celebrating his 100th birthday. Find out more here. 

This Lunar New Year, The Glen and Box Hill Central come alive with colour and cultural celebrations to welcome the Year of the Horse. From February 5 to March 4, enjoy free, family-friendly activities designed to immerse visitors in the festive spirit. Discover personalised horoscope readings, share your wishes on the Wishing Tree and explore glowing lightbox art installations by Chinese-Australian artist Chrissy Lau. Look out for the symbolic Gold Coin feature, representing prosperity and good fortune. Box Hill Central will also host a traditional Lantern Festival from 27 February to 4 March.

There’s a Happy Horse Noodle Bar installation the size of a shipping container at QV Melbourne to celebrate the Lunar New Year. You’re invited to step inside this TikTok-worthy giant installation and journey through a classic Chinese takeaway menu. Simply scan the QR code and watch the dishes come to life thanks to AR. Cool, right? There will also be lion and dragon dances, plus martial arts performances from the Chinese Masonic Society. Enjoy traditional performances in QV Square at 5.30pm on February 16 (Lunar New Year eve) and February 17 (Lunar New Year day), plus performances at 5pm over the Lunar New Year weekend. Participating restaurants include Local Hero Singapore, Shanghai Street Kitchen, Dainty Sichuan, Chunky Town, EatAlley, Old Beijing and more. 

Get to our famous Queen Victoria Market by 10am on February 20 to watch a spectacular lion dance weaving its way through this open-air market. The starting point? Mary Martin Bookshop in String Bean Alley. Yes, it's all about good fortune and good food at Queen Vic, which will be transformed with red lanterns lining the Queen Street sheds and Lucky Cat displays outside the Meat and Fish Hall. Craving a succulent Chinese meal? Whether you want to make dumplings or sweet rice cakes (nian gao), you'll find all your specialty ingredients right here. 

On February 19, Pride of Our Footscray will host Silk Road New Year Vocals, an intimate live music session with a focus on bridging the gap between East and West. They're celebrating the Year of the Horse with a heartfelt mix of your favorite Chinese and English pop hits by Tom Diva, Shawnsingz, Dixon Lee and Emily Chu. It's a night for the LGBTQIA+ Asian community, friends and family. Find out more here. 

Pan-Asian Windsor fave Hawker Hall will be hosting special Lunar New Year celebrations from February 16 till March 3. Fortune cookie giveaways include free cocktails, so make sure you crack open yours. Mondays come with extra luck, thanks to $2 skewers all night, plus traditional lion dance performances at 7pm on February 23 and March 2. Take the guesswork out of what to order and indulge in their $88pp banquet menu available for lunch and dinner – prosperity salad, anyone? Get the deets here. 

There's nothing better than yum cha for LNY. Luckily for you, both venues of Oriental Teahouse – in South Yarra and Melbourne CBD – have more than 40 yum cha dishes to choose from, plus lion dance performances. While the CBD venue hosts yum cha at 12 noon and 2pm on February 15, it is also open on February 17 – Lunar New Year day. The South Yarra venue offers yum cha dinner on February 17 from 7pm. Find out more here. 

Aru is celebrating the Year of the Horse from February 16-28 with four special dishes representing prosperity, luck, wealth and abundance. We're talking longevity noodles, Ōra King salmon, rainbow trout and more. This acclaimed restaurant on Little Collins Street knows just how to marry native Australian ingredients and Asian flavours. Interested? Find out more here.