Start your Chinese New Year celebrations early this Saturday, February 9th, at the Garfield Park Conservatory.  From 11 to 4, there will be music at Horticulture Hall and workshops and performances by the UChicago Dragon Dance Club.  There’ll be a Scavenger Hunt at Palm House.  You can learn traditional dance steps, make your own dancing dragon, and hunt for lucky plants.

Chinese New Year (also called “Lunar New Year” or “Spring Festival”) begins on Sunday, February 10th.  It’s the Year of the Snake.  From the Chinese Zodiac:

“People born in the Year of the Snake are the most intuitive, even while remaining the most private and reticent. Snake people represent the symbol of wisdom. They are intelligent and wise. Snake people are usually regarded as great thinkers.”

Chicago’s Chinatown has a series of events, including the popular Lunar New Year Parade on Sunday, February 17th at 1 p.m. beginning at 24th & Wentworth and marching north to Cermak.