The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York is an annual sporting and multicultural event held in August on Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York to celebrate the fifth moon (or the fifth month) of the

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, t ...

. In addition to providing audiences with traditional Chinese foods and performances, the festival, now in its 18th year, hosts over 150

dragon boat A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family ...

teams from across North America, making it one of the largest dragon boat festivals in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Depending on the competitive division, teams compete for cash prizes or airline tickets. In 1986, the

Hong Kong Tourism Board The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is a Government-subvented body founded in 2001. The Board replaced the Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA) established in 1957. It has 15 branch offices and representative offices in 6 markets around the w ...

donated traditional

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

wood boats to several cities including New York. In 1990, the locally based

Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (HKETOs) are the trade offices of Hong Kong outside the territory. There are 14 HKETOs outside Hong Kong and China, and seven in China (four offices and three liaison units). In addition to HKETOs, the ...

promoted and organized the inaugural Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York, which was held on the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

Battery Park City Battery Park City is a mainly residential planned community and neighborhood on the west side of the southern tip of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by the Hudson River on the west, the Hudson River shoreline on the north ...

. Several of the original organizers are still involved with the festival, including

Henry Wan Henry Wan Noki (born 23 July 1991) is a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer who plays for the Papua New Guinea Hunters in the Queensland Cup. He has also represented Papua New Guinea Kumuls The Papua New Guinea national rugby league te ...

, who now serves as the festival's chairman. The festival is now an independent non-profit company organized under the laws of the State of New York and receives its funding through sponsorships by various companies. The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office continues to be a substantial supporter of the festival. In addition to the change in corporate structure, the festival's fleet of dragon boats has grown from 4

wood dragon boats to over 30 dragon boats. Many of the boats are made of fiberglass. All the boats are approved by the

International Dragon Boat Federation The International Dragon Boat Federation () is the international governing body for the team watersport of dragon boat racing. The Founder of the IDBF was Mike MacKeddie-Haslam (Great Britain) and the IDBF Founding Members in Hong Kong the on J ...

for international

dragon boat racing A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family of t ...

References

External links

Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York, Inc.

International Dragon Boat Federation
{{coord, 40.735, -73.840, type:event_region:US-NY, display=title Dragon boat racing Recurring events established in 1990 Flushing Meadows–Corona Park Sports in Queens, New York Boat festivals