
	Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival 2008

Date/Time:	August 2-3 2008, 9:00 am- 5:00 pm
Place:	Meadow Lake, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens
Tickets:	Free to the public!

The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, one of the largest multi-cultural events in New York City, featured 150 teams racing traditional, custom-made boats for cash and prizes. The event also included a cultural fair, featuring food, artistic performances and music celebrating the “Year of the Rat”. Montreal Mix was the overall winner of the event, taking first place in the Open Mixed 500-meter and second in the Open Mixed 250-meter. DCH Racing was the overall runner-up, while the Metro Athletic Dragons came in third.

The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival is the oldest and largest dragon boat festival in the United States. The event featured over 1,500 participants from across the United States and Canada. Several world-class teams participated, including squads from Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia and New York. Each team consisted of a long, narrow dragon boat that seats 18 paddlers, a steerer and a drummer.

In addition to racing action, the festival featured many family-fun activities. Events included a photo contest, a presentation of traditional Chinese arts, martial arts demonstrations, a traditional Dragon dance, musical performances and demonstrations of folk arts and crafts. The Chef One “Dumpling Eating Contest” took place on Sunday at noon, while all festival attendees had an opportunity to sample delicious delicacies from around the world at the food court.

The opening day parade took place at noon on Saturday, August 2, and was followed by the New York City Championship Races. Other races that were held on the first day included the Municipal Invitational and several heats of the U.S. Dragon Boat Open Championship. Races that were held on Sunday included the Sponsors Challenge, the Corporate Invitational, the Charity Race, the Media Invitational/Metro Asian Food Magazine Cup and the Women’s Invitational. The remaining races of the Open Championship were also held on Sunday, August 3.

The colorfully-painted dragon boats are custom-made by a small coterie of craftsmen in Hong Kong. They first appeared in the third century B.C., after idealistic poet and reformer Qu Yuan had tried to drown himself in protest of his emperor’s policies. Popular legend has it that locals raced in boats in an attempt to rescue the revolutionary poet. They beat their drums and splashed their paddles in order to prevent fish and water dragons from eating his body.

For more information about the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, please visit their
Official Web-Site.

For information on last year's event, please visit our
2007 page.

Last Updated On: Friday, August 8, 2008



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