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In
The News
2009
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Please contact: Gail Wang, Boston Dragon Boat Festival Committee - 617-259-0286 -
alwayswillow@hotmail.com
30th Annual Dragon Boat Festival
BOSTON -May 29, 2009- Come celebrate the 30th Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival on Sunday, June 7, 2009, from 12:00 p.m. – 5 p.m. Spectators will be able to watch brightly colored dragon boats, piloted by paddlers from Greater Boston, New York, and as far away as Canada, as they race down the Charles River between JFK Street and the Western Avenue Bridge. The festival is sponsored in part by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, United Commercial Bank, State Street, the Boston Dragon Boat Festival Committee, and more.
This year’s festival, which is the largest Asian American celebration in New England, will include 32 teams competing in four categories: open, mixed, corporate and women’s. A special heat will be devoted to breast cancer survivors. It will also feature traditional Chinese arts and crafts by the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association; a Dragon and Lion Dance; martial arts; Chinese dance and music; traditional Japanese festival drumming and Asian foods. The festival, free and open to the public, will be held rain or shine.
The Legend of the Dragon Boat Races
Traditionally held on the fifth day of the fifth moon on the lunar calendar (late May to mid June on the solar calendar), the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the life and death of the Qu Yuan (340-278 BCE). A political leader of Chu, Qu Yuan is recognized as China’s first distinguished poet. Qu Yuan lost the king’s favor and was banished from his home state of Chu because of his opposition to the prevalent policy of compromise to the powerful state of Qin. In exile, he wrote the poem, “Encountering Sorrow,” which shows a great loyalty to his state and its people. In 278 BCE, Qu Yuan heard that Chu had been invaded. In despair, he drowned himself in the Mi Lo River. The people of Chu rushed to the river to rescue him. Too late to save Qu Yuan, they splashed furiously and threw zong-zi (traditional rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves) into the river as a sacrifice to his spirit and to keep the fish away from his body.
Today, Dragon Boat Festivals are popular around the world. The first Dragon Boat Festival in the United States was held in Boston. The Boston festival is used as a vehicle to promote Asian culture and a chance to bring together diverse communities from Boston and surrounding areas. In previous years, more than 20,000 people lined the banks of the Charles to enjoy the festivities and performances.
For more information, check out the
Festival website at www.bostondragonboat.org or call
(617) 426-6500, x 778 for a recorded message.
2007
The 2007
Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival of Boston
BOSTON DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL TO MARK 10th ANNIVERSARY OF HKSAR
Dragon boats fire up Charles
2006
The 2006
Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival of Boston
2005
The 2005
Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival of Boston
2004
Dragon
Boat Festival Returns to the Charles
New
Dragon Boats Arrive for June 13th Races
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