Dragon Boat Festival coming to Rockett’s Landing

Last summer, Richmonders acquired one more great reason to love living in the River City: Dragon boat racing at Rocketts Landing.  The heat was a factor as shade was hard to come by that long hot day, but the Richmond Sports Backers teamed up with several sponsors to bring the first Dragon Boat Festival to the […]

July 18, 2011; 6:48 AM • by Phil Riggan

Last summer, Richmonders acquired one more great reason to love living in the River City: Dragon boat racing at Rocketts Landing. 

The heat was a factor as shade was hard to come by that long hot day, but the Richmond Sports Backers teamed up with several sponsors to bring the first Dragon Boat Festival to the James River.  This year’s event is scheduled for July 30.

Last year’s event was fun, active and brought many Richmonders out to a part of town that probably most had never seen. The crews mostly consisted of corporate teams from around Richmond, but there were also “ringer” teams from cities like Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Charlotte. Great for Rocketts Landing and the Shockoe Bottom area to have so many people having a great time.

What is Dragon Boat Racing? From the Great White North Dragon Boat Racing website: 

Twenty paddlers move in unison, combining strength with teamwork in a boat whose elaborate design originates in ancient China… Dragon boats are 40-foot human-powered canoes decorated with ornate Chinese dragon heads. Led by the rhythmic beat of a drum, teams consisting of 20 synchronized paddlers, one drummer, and one steersperson race the canoes 500m down the river.

This year will be more of the same at Rocketts Landing, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. July 30. See the SportsBacker’s website.

July 18, 2011 6:48 AM 0