If you go to Chinatown only once a year, this should be the day. The annual Night in Chinatown, heralding the Chinese new year, is a block party that keeps people coming back with its food vendors, T-shirts (this year, the boar is the star) and crazy-crowded festive atmosphere.

Go ahead, try that thick gray/blackish, sweet sesame-seed soup (if it's available, because it's not on your average menu). Go on a hunt for the elusive char-siu-filled gin doi (the ones with coconut or black sugar are always available). Give the dancing lion a dollar bill or two — it's good luck!

Night in Chinatown is from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Maunakea Street, which is closed to vehicles. There's a parade that begins at 4 p.m. at the state Capitol and winds up at the festival. Bring those cameras!

Admission is free.

There's also a new-year celebration continuing from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. today at the nearby Chinatown Cultural Plaza. There you'll find more food, crafts and entertainment. It's free, too.

And Happy Year of the Boar!