San Francisco gears up for Super Bowl, Lunar New Year celebrations this weekend

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Preparations are underway at the United Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco.

On Sunday, the center is set to host hundreds of 49ers fans for a special Super Bowl party.

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“Purchasing a lot of red and gold the last couple of days. Lots of flags and buntings of course. We did buy a couple of additional TVs because we’re at capacity on Sunday,” said Liam Reidy.

Reidy is the center’s president.

He says in addition to the good food, drinks and music, there’s also a good old-fashioned wager on the line.

Reidy tells me he and the Irish center have a bet with their counterparts in Kansas City over who will bring home the winner’s trophy.

“If Kansas City wins on Sunday, they’ll send us some Irish cream liqueurs and some coffee. Of course, if San Francisco doesn’t win we’ll have to do something in return. Maybe some Buena Vista Cafe gift boxes and coffee as well,” he said.

But the Super Bowl isn’t the only thing people across San Francisco are gearing up for.

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Saturday marks the start of Lunar New Year celebrations.

At H Mart Korean grocery store, Sophia Liu says she was getting some essentials for a gathering she’s hosting.

“I got stuff to make dumplings. So I got pork, shrimp, dumpling wrappers, shitake mushrooms for my friends and I,” Sophia Liu.

It was a similar story in Chinatown on Thursday night, where streets were packed with people.

Currently there are many establishments around San Francisco getting ready for either the Lunar New Year or the Super Bowl. But some places, like the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, are doing both.

Owner Kevin Chan says they’ve seen a big uptick in orders ahead of the holiday.

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Driven in part thanks to it being the Year of the Dragon.

“It’s the most important zodiac in the calendar. The very first one. The strongest one,” Chan said.

But also due to 49er mania.

The excitement so high, Chan says his company is even making special Super Bowl-themed cookies.

“They’re having Super Bowl parties and they’re making their own messages about both teams, and some funny messages.”

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