A flower fair staged over the weekend in the heart of San Francisco's Chinatown is heralding the start of a flurry of celebrations of the Chinese New Year throughout the month in the US city, which boasts the largest Chinese community outside of Asia.

"I just want to welcome everyone to the oldest, the largest and the most significant Chinese community in Northern America," David Chiu, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the fair.

"This is a community where all started, where the Asian American community here in the United States first came to the US ," added Chiu, the first Chinese American elected to be president of the legislative branch of the City and County of San Francisco.

"Obviously, we are celebrating thousands of years of Chinese history," he noted.

The two-day flower fair is aimed at providing a festive atmosphere in which the community can purchase their annual lunar new year flowers and produce while enjoying traditional Chinese dance, music, art and cultural displays.

The fair will be followed by more celebrations in the coming weeks, including basketball jamboree, the Miss Chinatown US, a Pageant and Chinatown community street fair.

All the festivities will culminate with the Chinese New Year parade, named one of the top 10 parades in the world by the International Festivals and Events Association and is also billed as the largest celebration of its kind outside of Asia.

This year's parade is scheduled for February 27 and is expected to include elaborate floats, lion dancers, marching bands, stilt walkers, Chinese acrobats and a 250 foot (76 meter) long golden dragon, organizers have announced.

Chinese New Year parade and celebrations in San Francisco originated in the 1860's during the Gold Rush day and has now become an event popular to local residents as well as visitors.

"I'm enjoying the excitement of the people and I'm just as excited as everyone else here," said Mary Ann Kostkas, a tourist from the US state of Montana who was buying orchids at the Chinatown flower fair.

"I'm learning a lot about the culture and I'll take it back to Montana," she told Xinhua.

Kostkas, enjoying her first visit to San Francisco during the Chinese New Year festival days, said she is hoping to return next year.

(Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2010)