Nestled in the history of ancient China lies the origins of the Dragon Boat Festival. Filled with food, wonderful cultural traditions, and inspiring, team-oriented races, today’s Boston Hong Kong Dragon Boat Races and Festival offer more than entertainment. It connects people and draws them into a different culture.  Strong leaders and advocates have worked to bring not only representation, but appreciation of Asian culture in America.  Volunteer led and volunteer based, the leaders of  Boston Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival Inc. have worked tirelessly since its founding in 1979, to bring the festival and races to Massachusetts every year.

   “I joined in 2002, when I started working at the Boston Children’s Museum as the Asian

Program Educator, and later, as the Asian Program Manager, “ says Gail Wang, president of the  Festival’s  board. “At that time the Dragon Boat Festival was still part of the Boston Children’s Museum’s Asian Cultural Program. The first Boston Dragon Boat Festival was organized by three Boston Children’s Museum Asian Program Educators and staff members in 1979. It became  the first in North America!”

     That was forty-three years ago.Thanks to the determination of the founders, Leslie Swartz, Nancy Sato, and Marcia Iwasaki, the festival has become an annual convener of corporations, community organizations, sports enthusiasts, and lovers of all things Asian. Ultimately, the event  has become one of the major tourist events in Massachusetts each spring

The Festival

 “There are two components: the races and the cultural festival,” Gail explains. She handles the logistics for the cultural festival. Vendor tables with history, arts and crafts, and Asian foods help to make it a fun family event .Traditionally, the main food delicacy at the festival are the sticky rice dumplings. Cultural performances also add to the day’s excitement with dance and music representing different Asian countries. Gail describes, “Our field vendors, our performances, our arts and crafts and our foods all hail from various communities in Massachusetts. That’s a tradition we’re very proud of.”

When the Boston Hong Kong Boat Festival Inc. was founded, it received incredible support from the Chinese community. “At that time in the late 70’s,” Gail explains, “the Chinatown community, suburban Chinese community, as well as the Chinese artist community- all wanted to have a program that could unite all parts of Chinese community to promote Chinese culture in the Greater Boston areas. And the decision to have the Charles River as the location for the first race was fortuitous because it has continued to provide a beautiful, central location for the races and the festival.”

The Races

      The Dragon Boat Races are led by the VP of Racing, Jeffrey Wang. He got caught up in the magic of Dragon Boat Racing years ago, and has been unable to leave it. “I started with just going to volunteer”, Jeff says.  “I had no idea what dragon boating was. I went for one day in 2013. The person who brought me there has since left and I have been going back there every year. “ He explains that the long days don’t matter to him; he is always willing to go down to the docks and help out. It’s such a different environment. He says. . “You feel the teamwork, cultural pride, and support. You fall in love and then you get drawn right into it.”

       “Dragon Boat racing incorporates the most amount of teamwork compared to almost any other sport. It is about pulling everyone’s strength together and working as a team, “Jeff explains.  . He makes it clear that winning should not be the goal but rather becoming a cohesive unit. “You must have a common goal, common mindset and motivation, Those teams which emphasize this do best because they will have more stable teams” 

      A boat typically contains a minimum of 16 people with no more than 20. Jeff describes, “There is the captain, someone who is guiding, motivating, and steering the team at the front.  There are different rower positions, and it is crucial that each person knows their role on the boat. There is a drummer, the beating heart of the team, constantly banging the drum as the team soldiers on. The age range varies. We have had an 8 years old on one of our Youth Teams . There are also teams made from friends and family, corporations, businesses, and cancer survivor teams. Anyone and everyone can row.

    As the first Festival to bring Dragon Boat racing into the states, the Boston Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival has gone from 30-40 teams in 2013, to 76. this year. “The majority of our boats are co-ed boats.” Jeff describes.. “But we do have a Women’s Division. Usually we have about three or four women’s teams but the majority of our races are mixed gendered. I do notice a trend. I feel that the woman racers are more dedicated; they are always at practice. As a whole, the male racers tend to practice less. But in the end, a team’s results always speak to individual work and team work.”

  Ancient Roots

There are different origin stories for today’s Dragon Boat celebrations. In one, a young girl, Cao E, rowed out onto the water in Zhejiang Province to find the body of her dead father. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, she jumped in. Five days later her body was found with her father’s body clutched in her arms.

 Another origin tale is that of Wu Zixu (722-481 BC), advisor to the king. Wu, after he

fled his home state of Chu, due to the death of his brother and father. He helped the king conquer his home state, Chu, but fell out of favor once the king died and left his son in charge. Not trusting Wu, the new king ordered Wu Zixu to commit suicide on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

The best-known tale is that of Qu Yuan. He was a poet and loyal official from the state of Chu during the Warring States Period. After being slandered by jealous officials, Qu Yuan was exiled. In exile, he continued to write about his love and passion for his state . But in 278 BC, when Qu Yuan heard that the Qin State conquered the capital of Chu, he was further devastated. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, he drowned himself in the Miluo River. Legend says that the locals were saddened, and they went out on the river to recover his body. Unable to find it, they rowed up and down the river beating drums and hitting the water with their paddles to ward off evil spirits, even throwing rice into the depths so fish would eat the rice and not Qu Yuan’s body.

Rice has become dumplings, and casual rowing has grown into international Dragon Boat Races. Traditions like loyalty and teamwork remain, along with the celebration of its cultural roots. Jeff says,  “If you look at Asian culture,  you have the parents, the kids, the grandkids, everyone in the house. And everyone is trying to pull their weight to work together, and I

think that really showcases in the dragon boat culture. To work together, everyone is unique and everyone is individually strong, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. Once you’re in the boat, you pull together and I think it’s that culture within that sport, that really brings people together.”

Plans for the future

         The Dragon Boat Racing Festival brings culture, tradition and history together in a way that appreciates, celebrates, and shares Asian culture. Jeff says that he would like to expand the number of teams and perhaps get a larger venue. Both Gail and Jeff would like to help the festival grow as more people are drawn to it. Beyond the teams, the board has an additional vision to expand with summer programs, spread out to other communities, and grow from being solely volunteer-based. They have big plans for the future. The commitment which past and current board members like Gail and Jeff and so many dedicated volunteers have made since 1979 shines through each year. The future is in powerful hands.