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Dragon boats will take to White River for festival, races

Dragon boats will take to White River for festival, races

Dragon boats will take to White River for festival, races

Picture this.

46-foot long dragon boats… 22 people… and LIVE racing!

It’s all part of the second annual White River Dragon Boat Race on Saturday, Sept. 28 at White River State Park, and is a partnership between The White River Alliance, the premier organization for regional water resource protection in Indiana, and Indy SurviveOars, Indiana’s only breast cancer survivor dragon boat team.

Here to tell us more are Jill Hoffmann, Director of White River Alliance, and Robert Negron, Indy Convergence Artistic Director.

About:

• A community-wide competition, the Dragon Boat Races will feature live racing with 46-foot long dragon boats. Dragon boat racing originated over 2,000 years ago in China, and its popularity has been growing in the West since the 1970s. The sport emphasizes teamwork, as it takes a team of 22 people to power the massive vessel.
• Paddling has also become popular for women recovering from breast cancer, with survivor teams all around the world.

• The event concludes the White River Festival, a series of events hosted by many partner organizations, coordinated by the White River Alliance, and supported by the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
• More than 20 teams, representing corporations, cities, and groups of friends, are already registered for the races.
• The event schedule includes interactive opening ceremonies, several rounds of sprint races, an awards ceremony and a celebratory concert on Indy Convergence’s floating stage, A Rising Tide (ART).
• The ART performance will feature a family-friendly screening of eclectic music from 2-4 p.m. on Sept. 28 after the races.

To learn more, visit https://thewhiteriveralliance.org/programs/dragon-boat-race/.