Chinese New Year — Year of the Snake — Slithers in Feb. 10

The Year of the Snake begins Sunday, Feb. 10, according to the traditional Chinese calendar, and Berkeley will celebrate the Lunar New Year with a pair of events.

The traditional culmination of the holiday, San Francisco's Chinese New Year Festival and Parade, will be held Saturday, Feb. 23. If you don't go in person, you can watch the parade on KTVU Channel 2 or KtSF Channel 26.

Here are some of the events planned in Berkeley and nearby:

—Lunar New Year Celebration and Parade, Sunday, Feb. 10, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Entertainment at the Albany Landmark Twin Theatre, 1115 Solano Ave., Albany, 10 a.m.-noon. Hour-long parade begins at the theater at noon and travels up Solano Avenue into Berkeley. Free.

—Lunar New Year Celebration, Saturday, Feb. 16, noon-4 p.m., Fourth Street shopping district, Berkeley. Candy giveaway by merchants. Martial arts demonstration at 12:30 p.m., dragon and lion dance 1-2:30 p.m., lion procession with store blessings, 2:30 p.m. Free.

—Lunar New Year Festival, Saturday, Feb. 16, 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 Ninth Street, Suite 290, Oakland (second floor of the Pacific Renaissance Plaza). Arts and crafts, cutural performances, family arts workshops. Free.

—Asian New Year Traditions, Sunday, Feb. 17, noon-4:30 p.m., Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. Performances, lessons, hands-on family acitivities. $6-$12, free for age 8 and under.