One of the biggest events in Queens is set to commence this coming weekend.
The 19th annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival (HKDBF) will take place August 8 and 9 at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The festival will have two main components – one on land and one on sea.
Teams from across the country will compete in races across Meadow Lake. New York Hospital Queens, a staple of the community, is a long-time sponsor and competitor in the competition. They will be fielding three teams this year, The Paddle Medics, whose members are EMTs and paramedics from the hospital, The Dragon Hearts from the hospital’s Heart and Vascular Center and the Baby Catchers, made up of doctors and staff from obstetrics and gynecology.
Another notable sponsor in this year’s festival is Nickelodeon. The television network will be promoting its show Ni Hao Kai-lan, a half-hour series that teaches Mandarin words and phrases and Chinese culture to preschoolers. The show’s star, Jade-Lianna Gao Jian Peters, will be at the event.
“I’m really excited,” said Peters. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about the event, and it’s going to be a great experience. I’m looking forward to learning new things.”
Peters will be participating in the opening ceremony by cutting the ribbon and painting the eye on the dragon.
The land portion of the festival will be highlighted by culturally diverse performances and food to match. Traditional Asian cuisine, with favorites such as bubble tea, fried rice and dumplings, will be plentiful, along with a variety of other ethnic foods, such as Burmese cuisine, Caribbean style cooking, and classic barbecue.
Admission to the HKDBF is free, and the event will take place rain or shine. Parking at the festival is extremely limited, so organizers are encouraging attendees to take mass transit to the festival.
Festival goers can use their MetroCard to take the No. 7 train to the Mets stadium stop and transfer from there to special MTA shuttle buses that will take them directly to the festival site, or they can walk from the Mets stop (about 15 minutes) or take the colorful park trolley to the festival site.
Parking on-site is limited, but visitors can park at the Mets stadium and take the special MTA shuttle with your MetroCard (or use correct change).
