It’s the biggest holiday of the year for a large portion of the world’s population, but for the first time Chinese New Year will be publicly celebrated on Bainbridge Island Jan. 29, marking the start of the Year of the Dog.

The drab days of winter will be enlivened with colorful red Chinese couplets in downtown store windows, booths featuring traditional Chinese crafts, and a Lion Dance parade down Winslow Way at noon.

The event is sponsored by the Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce and organized by a new non-profit group, Bainbridge Island Chinese Connection. They hope to make it an annual event.

The idea came from a group on Bainbridge Island called “Old China Hands,” whose members have some sort of ties to China.

Some are Chinese immigrants, others worked or lived in China, and a special group are children adopted from China by Bainbridge Island families.

They all met last Sunday to hold a dress rehearsal of the Lion Dance, set to be the centerpiece of the New Year’s celebration.

While the Chinese dragon is better known, organizer Randi Evans said a dragon takes many more people and is much larger.

The lion needs just two people, one for the head and one for the tail, but there are two teams recruited for this event.

“It’s physically exhausting, you are totally winded when you’re finished,” “head dancer” Gregory Glynn said.

He and Ben Evans performed for the dress rehearsal, along with Will Ryan providing the beat on a large drum.

The dancers learned their moves from martial arts instructor Master Mak in Seattle, both in person and by watching a video.

“We wanted to follow the tradition as closely as possible,” Glynn said.

Along with the drum, there will also be a cymbal and gong played while the lion marches on Winslow Way and performs for eight businesses along the way.

As is traditionally done, each business will offer the lion a head of lettuce with a red envelope containing money hidden inside. The lion will “eat” the lettuce, then spew out the pieces, thus spreading the wealth (but keeping the envelope).

Children at the rehearsal Sunday squealed in delight as the lion menaced them and made short work of the head of leafy lettuce suspended from a fishing pole.

Money donated by the businesses will go toward funding this Chinese New Year’s celebration, and hopefully next year’s as well.

The lion costume was ordered from China, and features a large puppet-like head with eyes that swivel and ears that flap, controlled by the head dancer. With a gold lamé body and red maribou trim, it’s a sight to behold.

There are two types of lion dances performed in China, one with a southern lion and one with a northern.

The Bainbridge group is using a southern type, as it is larger and more colorful.

The event involves many volunteers, under the watchful eye of organizers Evans and James Nunnelee. The group, Chinese Connection is appyling for non-profit tax status, but this year are funding the event through donations and their own money.

Port Madison Enterprises contributed to the event, and Bennie’s Fireworks, from the Suquamish tribe, donated 40,000 small firecrackers to pop at a point along the parade route, as is also traditional in China.

Evans hopes this will be a day of fun for all.

While the Lion Dance at 1 p.m. along Winslow Way is the highlight of Sunday’s celebration, there are activities planned at other venues around town as well.

All activities run from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and are:

i Bicycle Brigade, Dog Parade: All families are invited to bring their bikes, trikes wagons and pooches to lead the Lion Dance parade at 12:30 p.m. Decorate the wheels and dress up the dogs — this is their time to take center stage.

Furrytales Farms and the Humane Society will bring dogs too.

i Kid-friendly China exhibit at Kids Discovery Musuem: Museum visitors can try their hand at making Chinese lanterns.

i Chinese houseware exhibition: Bainbridge Island Historical Museum, 215 Eriksen NE, hosts a display of houseware items not found in the typical American household.

The Winslow Mall will be the site of several booths featuring the culture of China, including:

i Feng shui: Get a consultation on how to make the energy in your home flow better.

i Chinese calligraphy: Expert calligraphers draw intricate Chinese characters on the spot.

i Astrology: Learn what the stars have in store for you from a Chinese geomancer, or just learn what a geomancer is.

i Chinese food: No Chinese New Year’s celebration would be complete without lots of freshly prepared Chinese food, and this is the place to get it. There will be cooking demonstrations throughout the event.

There is no charge for the food or activities, but donations to cover costs would be appreciated.

Across the street at Eagle Harbor Books, 157 Winslow Way E, author Lensey Namioka presents a special reading of “They Don’t Mean It,” from her anthology, “First Crossings: Stories About Teen Immigrants,” at 3 p.m.

“We want to emphasize this is for the family and we just want everyone to have fun,” Evans said. “It’s not Bejing, but we’ll try.” wu