Dragon boats, dumplings and dozens of lanterns took over North Hempstead Beach Park Saturday as thousands turned out for the town’s first dragon boat festival.
“With the diverse community now in Long Island, especially in North Hempstead, where 30% of the population is Asian, I thought it would be nice to include more cultural events that the entire community can learn about, have fun with and partake in,” said Town Council Member Christine Liu, who organized the festival with co-host Ohana Paddling Association.
The Chinese cultural festival is inspired by the 2,000-year-old legend of Qu Yuan, a revered poet and statesman, who drowned himself in protest against government corruption while villagers raced to save him, throwing sticky rice dumplings into the river to distract the fish. His story spurred the modern racing and eating of zongzi, bamboo-wrapped rice dumplings at the festival. Flushing, Queens, has held a dragon boat festival for decades.
North Hempstead’s inaugural event included 36 teams participating in dozens of races, cultural performances, lines of food vendors and concluded with the setting of traditionally lit lanterns out onto the water. Thousands were spread out across the park, playing cards, kids’ activities, and engaging with community organizations.
The festival grew out of community members’ dreams that Ohana Paddling Association and Liu worked together to bring to fruition.
Tina Cheng of OPA said one of the organization’s coaches spurred her association to work towards creating the town’s inaugural festival.
“The idea for this festival was driven by the dream of our late coach, Tim Woo, who sought to unite the New York-based dragon boat teams,” Cheng said. She added that OPA had been working to hold a festival in the town for years and poured hundreds of hours of passion and planning into the event.
Liu said her inspiration to hold the dragon boat festival sprouted from beloved community member Betty Leong’s dream.
“She was the first who spoke to me about her dream of having a Dragon Boat Festival in North Hempstead,” Liu said of Leong. “When I announced that I was going to embark on this endeavor, she signed right up. She was the first to register a team to race. She was the first to secure a sponsorship and be a part of the planning committee.”
The festival coming to fruition was bittersweet, Liu said, because Leong had died just a few weeks before the event.
“She loved paddling for the Queen’s Dragon Boat Races and was very involved with the community,” Liu said. “We let everyone know about her community spirit and that her dream came true at this Dragon Boat Festival.”
Attendee Cecilia Hong used to participate in dragon boating during her high school years and said the festival made her feel connected to the sport.
“Coming back here, I just wanted to see old friends and see what’s going on,” she said. “It felt really nostalgic just catching up with other people, and the whole atmosphere here brings me back to the good old days when I used to do this.”
Liu, who raced on a team herself, said the teams ranged from experienced racers to nonprofits, companies and groups of community members who wanted to try out the tradition for the first time.
Evonne Chang, who participated in the corporate division of races as a part of the Mitsubishi Corporation’s team, had never done “anything dragon boat-related” before training for the race, but took the opportunity to connect with her coworkers.
“I’ve really enjoyed competitive things, and I’ve really enjoyed doing different things in the community,” she said. “This is my first ever opportunity to do anything dragon boat related. I’ve heard about it. A lot of people in the team have heard about it before, but this is everyone’s first time to get an opportunity to try it.”
“It’s been good to connect with all the co-workers who we don’t really know, because we’re a relatively big company,” said Chang, whose team practiced once a week.
The Great Neck Chinese Association had three teams, including an all-women team led by captain Rebecca Chu. Chu said the team didn’t know they had signed up to compete against a professional team rather than a community-based one at first, which meant they would be participating in a 500-meter race instead of a 200-meter one.
“None of them have any idea what 500 looks like, but we got the spirit. So we’re like – we’re here already,” she said. “Of course, we were the last, but it’s very inspiring and encouraging. Everyone is cheering for each other.”
The event allowed competitors to enjoy the various activities in between their races, Chu said. “We have time to look at the performance.
The vibes are here, and the street vendors – kids, families are all here, like, really happy,” she said. “And then we are able to see a lot of old friends, too. Everybody’s busy, but this is a good time.”
