Large crowds are expected in San Francisco this weekend for the annual Chinese New Year Parade on Saturday as well as the two-day Community Street Fair in Chinatown.

The parade will go from Market and Second streets to Kearny and Jackson streets starting at 5:15 p.m. Saturday. The event, which lasts about two and a half hours, is free to attend but tickets must be purchased to sit in bleacher sections.

The actress and comedian Awkwafina is the grand marshal of this year’s parade and other local politicians and entertainers are expected to attend.

The route of Saturday’s Chinese New Year Parade is shown along with bleacher seat locations, tickets for which can be purchased online. (Chinese New Year Festival and Parade)

A Community Street Fair in the city’s Chinatown neighborhood will also be held from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, with more than 120 booths and concessions as well as an entertainment stage located on Pacific Avenue below Grant Avenue, according to organizers.

More information about the festivities can be found on the event’s website.

Dan McMenamin is the managing editor at Bay City News, directing daily news coverage of the 12-county greater Bay Area. He has worked for BCN since 2008 and has been managing editor since 2014 after previously serving as BCN’s San Francisco bureau reporter. A UC Davis graduate, he came to BCN after working for a newspaper and nonprofit in the Davis area. He handles staffing, including coaching of our interns, day-to-day coverage decisions and management of the newswire.