Chinese New Year of the Rabbit! All at The Venetian and Palazzo!

The Venetian and The Palazzo Las Vegas Celebrate Chinese New Year 2011!!

Festive décor and traditional dragon dance honors Year of the Rabbit

The Venetian and The Palazzo will ring in the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Rabbit with an authentic dragon dance with firecrackers and festive decorations featuring a 16-foot, 1,000-pound animated rabbit in the atrium gardens of The Shoppes at The Palazzo with handcrafted silk hanging lanterns and orange trees representing good luck and fortune. 

Dragon Dance

Symbolizing good luck and prosperity for the upcoming year, the dragon dance is an important ritual of Chinese culture. The Chinese consider dragons to be friendly and helpful creatures associated with strength, good fortune, wisdom and longevity. 

On Thursday, Feb. 3 at 3 p.m., a ceremonial dragon dance complete with firecrackers and eye painting ceremony will begin at The Venetian porte cochere, making its way through The Venetian Casino past The Palazzo Waterfall Atrium and through The Palazzo Casino, ending in the upper Palazzo porte cochere. The colorful spectacle will feature a parade of dancers and musicians dressed in elaborate costumes playing authentic music.

Chinese New Year Décor

Decorations in the customary color scheme of red and gold will transform both properties into a festive and bright celebration of the New Year.

Both The Venetian and The Palazzo entrances will be adorned with fresh bamboo, traditional Chinese lanterns and I-Ching coins representing an abundance of wealth.  The Palazzo front desk will have a 15-foot floral arrangement of oranges, bromeliads, bamboo and orchids.  The Palazzo Lalique fountain garden will feature a formal garden of orchids, chrysanthemums, fresh bamboo, 15-foot bamboo trees and citrus trees.

A 16-foot, 1,000-pound animated rabbit, the zodiac animal for 2011, will be situated in the atrium ground fountain. The rabbit took a team of 35 artists more than four months to conceptualize and build the one-of-a-kind piece.  

Six-foot-tall, hand-loomed brocade silk and jade gold and red lanterns suspended from the ceiling will signify the lives of those around to always be bright.  Red lacquer bridges, bromeliads, orchids, kalanchoes, chrysanthemums, 15-foot bamboo trees and fresh-cut bamboo, citrus trees and I-Ching coins will accent the atrium gardens.  Red lacquer bamboo columns with yellow cymbidium orchids, oranges, bromeliads, lucky knots and I-Ching coins will be located on the waterfall wall.

Chinese New Year decorations will stay up through February. 

Restaurant Specials

From Feb. 2-8, TAO Asian Bistro at The Venetian will offer a special meal of bo bo go sing, a rice cake stir fry with shrimp, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, carrot, ginger, scallion, sambal chile and soy. Meaning “each step go higher,” this dish represents bringing personal and professional success into the household for the new year. TAO Asian Bistro will also offer a dessert special featuring fried sesame balls made of sweet potato powder, water, sugar, sesame seeds with a sweet adzuki bean filling. Four pieces are served in a bamboo basket, representing good fortune for the New Year and wishing that money will “roll into your house.”

Double Helix Wine & Whiskey Bar at The Palazzo will offer half off all sake and sake cocktails on Feb. 3.

ZINE at The Palazzo will also offer a special menu to commemorate the Chinese New Year.

ABOUT THE PALAZZO LAS VEGAS®

With more than 3,000 expansive suites, luxury shopping ,world-class dining and entertainment, the $1.9 billion, Silver LEED®(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified Palazzo Las Vegas literally takes luxury to new heights.  Ranked first among Las Vegas Hotels in Travel + Leisure “World’s Best Awards 2010,” the AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Travel Guide Four Star-Award winning property is highlighted by a flagship 85,000-square-foot Barneys New York.  The Shoppes at The Palazzo feature more than 60 luxury boutiques, including 20 remarkable stores and couture brands making their Las Vegas debuts at The Palazzo, including Chloé, Tory Burch, Christian Louboutin, Diane von Furstenberg, Van Cleef & Arpels, Catherine Malandrino and Anya Hindmarch.  The all-suite resort offers plush and opulent suite accommodations ranging from a Luxury Suite at an unprecedented 720 square feet to the 8,000-square-foot Chairman suite with private terraces and plunge pools.  The Palazzo also offers a variety of cuisines from a collection of award-winning chefs such as Carnevino by Mario Batali, CUT by Wolfgang Puck and Table 10 by Emeril Lagasse. Other unique offerings include the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, “Jersey Boys;"  the chic dining and nightlife hotspot, LAVO; the world’s largest Canyon Ranch SpaClub; the ultimate sports bar, sportsbook and restaurant on the Strip, Lagasse’s Stadium; and Prestige at The Palazzo – an exclusive space designed to offer the sophisticated traveler an elevated level of services and amenities including private champagne check in, packing and unpacking services, exclusive bath and pillow menus, complimentary cocktail reception and more. For additional information, visit The Palazzo website at palazzolasvegas.com, follow on Twitter @palazzolasvegas and interact on Facebook at facebook.com/palazzolasvegas.

About The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino

The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, the largest property in the country to receive AAA’s Five Diamond and the coveted Forbes Travel Guide Four Star awards, is one of the world’s most luxurious LEED®-EB Gold (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified resort and convention destinations. Re-creating Venice’s legendary landmarks, the resort offers unmatched service and quality for leisure and corporate guests. With suites ranging from a standard 650-square-foot Luxury Suite to the luxurious 10,000-square-foot Chairman Suite, the all-suite resort boasts more than 4,000 of Las Vegas’ most lavish suite accommodations.  Located in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, The Venetian features The Grand Canal Shoppes, an indoor streetscape complete with gondolas and singing gondoliers, the Canyon Ranch SpaClub, world-class gaming, exquisite restaurants, and a wide variety of entertainment such as “Phantom-The Las Vegas Spectacular,” “Blue Man Group,” David Spade, Rita Rudner and Joan Rivers on its premises, as well as extensive convention and corporate services. For additional information, visit venetian.com, follow on Twitter @venetianvegas and interact on Facebook at facebook.com/venetianlasvegas.com.

The names and brands mentioned above are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.