By Bill Parry
Preparations for the 24th annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival got underway last weekend with the first round of practice sessions for the crews that will compete Aug. 9-10.
Eleven crews put in their work Sunday on Meadows Lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
“They will practice from now until the festival in order to work on their teamwork, synchronization and camaraderie,” festival Chairman Henry Wan said. “Last year we had a record 188 crews compete and we’re expecting at least that this year/ in fact, every year the races get more and more popular.”
Billed as the oldest, largest and most traditional Dragon Boat festivals in the United States, it honors Qu Yuan, a court minister and poet in first-century China who was banished from his home province of Chu after falling into disfavor with the king. Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Ni Lo River and legend has it that local fisherman raced on the river to save him but could not. His death is commemorated each year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month with boat races.
Teams from Italy and Canada competed in the festival last year, but most of the crews, sponsored by corporations and civic groups, are mainly from the five boroughs, New Jersey and Westchester County, according to Wan.
Registration is still open for the two racing divisions, the Heritage Division with a maximum of 14 crew members per boat, and the Heritage Division with crews of up to 22.
“This year there will be a special division called the Municipal Invitational that will celebrate the 50th and 75th anniversaries of the World’s Fair,” Wan said. “That competition will be open to crews from the NYPD, the FDNY and politicians.”
The festival promises fun for the whole family with a stage set up for the traditional dragon dance, musical and other diverse performances. There are kid-friendly demonstrations of folk arts and crafts, a martial arts demonstration by Shaolin Masters and an ethnic food court.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
