Ring In The New Year With The Festive And Fun Shanghai Parade In West Virginia

Every year on January 1, Lewisburg, West Virginia goes all out with a fun, quirky parade to ring in the New Year. The Shanghai New Year Parade has become a classic West Virginia tradition, providing a unique way to usher in the coming year.

The origins of West Virginia's Shanghai parade are shrouded in mystery, but it's thought that folks have been gathering to march through the streets of Lewisburg on New Year's Day since way back in the 1800s.

However it started, since then the Shanghai Parade has evolved into a wacky assortment of colorful characters.

You never quite know what you'll see when you line up to watch this parade!

In addition to pets, zoo animals, and characters in costume, you can also expect to spot esteemed members of the Lewisburg community participating in the shenanigans.

There's no registration for the Shanghai Parade - participants show up on January 1 around 11:00 a.m. on Lee Street for the parade down Washington Street in Lewisburg at noon.

Leading the parade is always "Baby New Year." Closing the parade is always the "Super Duper Pooper Scoopers". In between are all sorts of happy, dancing, singing, riding, running, walking, New-Year-well-wishing folks.

At the end of the parade, everyone who marched gets a $2 bill, and there are other prizes for different categories of participation.

Have you ever watched or taken part in West Virginia's unique Shanghai Parade on New Year's Day?

If you can't make it in person, here's some footage of the 2017 parade provided by Youtube user Rich McMahan.

What a memorable way to kick off the new year in West Virginia! For more information on this year's parade, keep an eye out for updates on the Greenbrier Valley Visitor and Convention Bureau's calendar of events. And if you're in the area, Lewisburg has plenty of other attractions to check out as well.