NEW YORK, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in New York City, home to the highest Chinese-American population of any U.S. city, will culminate in a massive parade in Chinatown on Sunday.

The annual extravaganza will begin at 1 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Mott Street, between Canal Street and Chatham Square in Lower Manhattan.

The parade will head toward the Manhattan Bridge before turning east on East Broadway, and will then proceed north to Forsyth and Eldridge streets before ending near the Sara D. Roosevelt Park, according to Better Chinatown USA, the parade organizers.

As one of the largest Chinese Lunar New Year parades in North America, the event features impressive displays of Chinese culture including marching bands, colorful floats, traditional dancing dragons and prancing lions. The best Chinese restaurants will serve delicious food for tens of thousands revellers.

For the first time, The New York Knicks basketball team will participate in the parade led by its former star Latrell Sprewell.

The grand street party also offers a variety of vendors, food and festivities for all ages to welcome the Year of the Dog.

The parade will concluded the Big Apple's annual Spring Festival celebrations which kicked off on Feb. 16 in Chinatown with a firecracker ceremony.

The highlights of the week-odd celebrations included a light show using the top of the Empire State Building as a virtual "canvas", fireworks over the Hudson River, and a New York Philharmonic concert.