It’s the Year of the Rabbit, but this weekend belongs to a mythical, serpentine-like creature that breathes fire.
The 31st annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York swoops into Flushing Meadows Corona Park this weekend (Aug. 12-13).
More than 100 teams – including squads from the Queens Borough President’s Office, City Hall, Con Ed, FDNY, HSBC, JP Morgan, and Verizon – splash through Meadow Lake in search of victory (or just finishing in some cases). Consisting of paddlers, a drummer, and a steerer, the crews propell colorful teak boats with carved dragon heads.
Meanwhile on the nearby shore, vendors – including Bayside Lemonade, Cano Coffee, Cousins Maine Lobster, Kapamilya Filipino, Lorenzo Crêpe, and Tacos el Mole – sell products. Amoy and Vita Coco plan to provide giveaways, too.
In the same area, dance troupes, martial arts schools, musicians, and singers perform on the HSBC Main Stage. (Details at the end of this post.)
Admission is free.
The parking lot near Meadow Lake fills up quickly, so attendees are advised to take the 7 train to the Mets-Willets Point station and transfer there to free MTA shuttle buses that go to the area and back.
Launched in 1990, HKDBF-NY is the oldest and largest dragon boat festival in the United States, attracting as many as 30,000 attendees each year. Dragon boat racing evolved from a Hunan folktale about third century BCE poet Qu Yuan, who allegedly jumped into a river to protest the emperor’s policies. As he sputtered, locals jumped into boats to rescue him. As they paddled, they beat drums and splashed to scare away the dragons. Yuan died, but a tradition was born.
The races are both days from 9 am to 5 pm. Here’s the entertainment schedule. Please note that master storyteller Jonathan Kruk plans to roam around and tell dragon stories on both days from 11 am to 4 pm.
Saturday, Aug 12
10:30 am to 11:30 pm: The Chinese Music Ensemble of New York plays traditional Cantonese music.
11:30 pm to 12:30 pm: Opening Ceremony. The Malaysian United Group Dragon Team leads racers to the main stage for dragon eye-dotting.
1 pm to 1:15 pm: Shanghai Night Dance by Ms. Ying Huan, the Chinese dance “Moon girl in the sky” by Ms. Dorgus Ng, and the Cantonese ditty “Moon represents my heart and Friend” by Fernando Blanco.
1:15 pm to 2 pm: Violinist extraordinaire Daisy Jopling and her band play rock arrangements of classical pieces, spiced up with Gypsy music, Irish Folk, Tango, and original compositions. Their latest album, Who’s Who, consists of violin arrangements of songs by The Who.
2 pm to 3 pm: Stina Wen and Wei Guo wear traditional Han Chinese clothing and combine elements of martial arts, ballet, and folk dance to create a captivating and visually stunning art form.
3 pm to 4 pm: Taiwanese singer Ya-lang Huang and his girlfriend Annie Lin perform a Cantonese song (“Red Sun”), a Mandarin song (“Because I Love You”), and a Taiwanese song (“Effort is the Only Road to Success”).
4 pm to 5 pm: NY Shaolin Temple Kung Fu Association carries out a Kung Fu demonstration filled with punches and kicks.
Sunday, Aug 13
11 am to noon: A Guzheng (Chinese Zither) and Dizi (Chinese Transverse Flute) performance from Helen Bao and Joshua Bao.
Noon to 12:15 pm: The Thai dance RakThai by Ms. Jirakit, the Chinese dance My Heart is in Happy Home, and Chinese military police boxing by Mr. Matt Zhang.
12:15 pm to 1:30 pm: The Latin Jazz Express plays a tribute to Tito Puente on his 100th anniversary.
1:30 pm to 2:15 pm: International dance with New York Chinese Cultural Center.
2:15 pm to 2:30 pm: Traditional Japanese dancer Junko Fisher.
2:30 pm to 3:30 pm: Vocalist and general artist Man Hua Huang (Jin Jin) does a Cantonese song (“Flower Universe”), a Mandarin song (“Enraptured”), and a Mandarin song (“Di Da Di”).
3:30 pm to 4 pm: Traditional Japanese Taiko drumming.
4 pm to 5 pm: NY Shaolin Temple Kung Fu Association returns to give a demonstration filled with punches and kicks.
Images: HKDBF-NY