From 19 January to February 5, Darling Square will play host to an array of Lunar New Year celebrations. Visitors will be immersed in a sea of lights with hundreds of traditional lanterns on display and murals of the 12 animals of the Zodiac by Sydney-based artist Chriss Lee. There’ll be a bevy of cultural events taking place. Catch traditional lion dance performances on January 21 and 22, and February 3-5. A live DJ will be mixing tunes from 5-9pm each Friday and a Gong Grocer pop-up gift shop and snack bar will be selling trendy Hongbaos (red pockets), gift hampers and street food snacks from January 19-29. The surrounding restaurants will also be participating in the festivities by offering exclusive LNY dishes like Auvers “”Oui Rabbit! How ya goin?”, which features braised kangaroo, boiled eggs, parsnip puree, wagyu fat mushrooms and foie gras.

The South Eveleigh precinct will celebrate the Year of the Rabbit from January 21 to February 5. The festival program is packed with loads of family-friendly events like eco-lantern making workshops, lion dancing on poles performed by renowned dance troupe Ji Wu Koon, Korean fan dancing performances, Taiko Japanese drumming and a rabbit petting experience. Several restaurants in the precinct including Eat Fuh, RaRa Ramen and Pepper Seeds Boutique Thai bits will have themed menus for the duration of the festival. BrewDog will be plating up crispy Korean chicken bao buns from January 22-25.

This one is a no-brainer. If you want to be in the thick of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Sydney head to Dixon Street on January 21, where the Lunar Lanes street party will be taking place. Chinatown will be abuzz with roving performers, food trucks, delicious street food stalls and live entertainment from 9pm. If you’ve worked up an appetite, you have plenty of Chinese restaurants hosting LNY specials in the city. Check out our pick of the best. Also on display in Haymarket will be Korean Australian artists Hyun-Hee Lee banner artwork Rabbit in the Moon, which is part of City of Sydney’s Banner Galleries exhibition that is on show throughout the city during LNY. Additionally, artists Yuxiao Wang and Meilun Gao of Studio Yu & Mei have created a pair of fluffy luminous rabbit installations that will be on display at Dixon Street Mall.

More than 200 years ago, Chinese settlers arrived at The Rocks and since the area has come alive with Asian culture and cuisine. To celebrate the Year of the Rabbit there will be a free outdoor screening of Crazy Rich Asians, at Laneway Cinemas at The Rocks on January 22. If you want to treat yourself, head to Four Seasons Hotel Sydney where one of Asia’s Best Bars, 28 HongKong Street will be taking over the hotel’s cocktail bar, Grain Bar.

Visit the Chinese Friendship Garden between January 21 and February 5 and you’ll be immersed in Chinese culture with the Garden’s Lunar New Year celebrations featuring lion dancing, tea ceremonies, brush painting workshops and more. From January 27-29 more than 3,000 paddlers will take to the water at Cockle Bay to compete in the annual Dragon Boat Races. To witness the action head to Cockle Bay Wharf. Throughout the LNY festival Darling Harbour will play host to lion dances, fireworks and special installations like LNY gates and a picture-perfect graphic wall to take photos in front of.

This inner-west suburb will be a hive of activity come January 21. Burwood Plaza will be hosting a range of events including lion dances, a kung fu demonstration and Chinese classical dance performance.

On February 4, Lunar New Year celebrations will take over Eastwood Oval between 3-9pm. The family-friendly event will include special LNY performances, amusement rides and a variety of stalls and food trucks. The night will conclude with a spectacular display of fireworks and ring in the Year of the Rabbit with a bang.

From January 18 to February 12 Chatswood will be in full LNY celebration mode. A Rabbit Sculpture Trail made up of eight large-scale inflatable rabbits will be on display throughout the CBD. On January 29, a ticketed Lunar New Year Comedy Festival will take place featuring some of Australia’s leading comedic talent, like Diana Nguyen and Nina Oyama. To close out the last weekend of the festival, on February 5 a Twilight Lantern Parade will sweep through the main streets of Chatswood.