Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge’s Rotary clubs to host dragon boat races May 31

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Penny Behling Dragon Boat Steerer

The three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge are combining forces to launch the inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival, to be held Saturday, May 31, at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park.

“The purpose of the festival is to provide a venue for dragon boat races, offer food and musical entertainment and raise funds for nonprofit service organizations in the community,” said Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, president of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge.

The boat-racing event will celebrate Oak Ridge’s waterfront and signature rowing venue. The other two clubs are the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary and Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary clubs.

A dragon boat is a long, low boat adorned with a snarling dragonhead at the boat’s front end, as in the Chinese tradition. Dragon boat races have become popular events in many U.S. cities, ranging in size from Philadelphia to Knoxville.

This all-day Dragon Boat Festival race will be an entertaining competition among teams of 20 persons each—18 paddlers, a caller, and a steerer. The teams will come from community employers and organizations, some of which are signing up to become corporate sponsors of the event. [Read more…]

Dragon Boat racers prepare for inaugural festival in May

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Penny Behling Emerald Youth Dragon Boat Racing

Penny Behling teaches youth and mentors of Emerald Youth’s Just Lead program the fundamentals of dragon boat racing on Monday at Melton Lake Park. (Photos by Sara Wise)

On Monday, Dynamic Dragon Boats came to Oak Ridge to prepare locals for the city’s Inaugural Dragon Boat Race scheduled for May 31.

Monday’s event served as a beginner’s guide to the city’s first event, but also hosted young adults in Emerald Youth Foundation’s JustLead group.

Penny Behling and her husband, Chris, own the Dragon Boat company, a Knoxville firm that participates in dragon boat events around the country. The pair said the sport is really gaining interest in the Knoxville area, with inaugural events in Oak Ridge and Blount County scheduled this spring and summer, as well as Knoxville’s Dragon Boat race June 21.

Dragon boats are long canoe-like boats adorned with the faces of Chinese dragons. They hold teams of 20 with participants arranged by size.

Behling said dragon boat festivals are gaining steam in the area simply because dragon boating is easy to do. This year, she has five scheduled events in Tennessee, and more nationwide.

“It’s very popular,” she said. “People realize they can do it and that it doesn’t take a super fit human being. This is something anybody can do.” [Read more…]