Austin marks the Lunar New Year with citywide festivals, performances, and food events through March

A citywide calendar builds around the start of the Year of the Horse

Lunar New Year begins on February 17, 2026, opening a holiday period commonly observed across East and Southeast Asian communities and extending through the Lantern Festival on March 3, 2026. In Austin, the season is being marked not by a single signature event, but by a spread of community festivals, museum programming, and food-centered gatherings scheduled from late January into early March.

This year corresponds to the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac cycle. Local organizers have tied many programs to familiar holiday elements—lion and dragon dances, red envelopes, cultural performances, and family activities—while emphasizing accessibility through free or low-cost entry at several venues.

Major community festivals anchor late January and mid-February

A large, free public festival is scheduled for Saturday, January 31, 2026, at the Asian American Resource Center in Northeast Austin. The program lists stage performances by multiple Austin-area dance and music groups, alongside crafts and vendor offerings, positioning the event as an early community kickoff ahead of the official Lunar New Year date.

Another free, family-oriented festival is set for Sunday, February 15, 2026, with an afternoon schedule that includes cultural stage performances, a lion dance, and a “carnival” format of hands-on activity booths such as calligraphy and paper cutting. Organizers have advertised red envelopes and goodie bags for children while supplies last.

• Jan. 31, 2026: Free community festival at the Asian American Resource Center (8401 Cameron Road).
• Feb. 15, 2026: Family festival featuring performances, lion dance, and activity booths (601 E. St. Johns Avenue).

Performances, makers markets, and food events extend the season

Beyond the large festivals, several smaller events emphasize performances and local vendors. An evening “after dark” program at the Umlauf Museum is scheduled for Tuesday, February 3, 2026, with dance programming and a dragon dance listed among the night’s highlights, alongside food and beverage options.

On Sunday, February 15, 2026, a separate Lunar New Year gathering at the Arboretum area advertises a lion dance performance, bilingual storytime, and a local artisan market in a retail setting. Additional gatherings later in the month include a February 19 community dinner event and a February 21 banquet-style celebration that advertises a multi-course meal, performances, and prize drawings.

Lunar New Year-related programming in Austin is distributed across multiple venues and formats this year, reflecting the way community celebrations often develop through neighborhood organizations, cultural groups, and small businesses rather than a single centralized festival.

March programming continues with a brewery event

The calendar extends into March with a March 1, 2026, event at a South Austin brewery combining a vendor market, a scheduled lion and dragon dance performance, and a music set. The timing underscores a broader pattern: in Austin, Lunar New Year observances frequently occur across several weekends to accommodate different organizers, audiences, and venue capacities.