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Photos, results: Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival

Posted at 2:11 pm May 31, 2015
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2015 Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival Entrance

Photo by D. Ray Smith

The second annual Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival on Friday and Saturday included dragon boat races, music, vendors, food trucks, a youth area for kids, Drummers’ Parade, and Lanterns on the Lake ceremony. Here are pictures by D. Ray Smith and Rob Welton.

The Dragon Boat Festival raises money for local charities. As many as 32 dragon boat teams had registered this year. Each team has 20 paddlers and a drummer to ensure that the paddlers are propelling the boat in synchrony.

This year, the festival started on Friday evening with the Dragon Boat Beer Garden Bash at Melton Lake Park followed by a full day of boat racing on Saturday.

The festival is organized and sponsored by the three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson and Fire Chief Darryl Kerley estimated that the new event on Friday had about 1,500 participants, and there were approximately 4,000 who attended throughout the day on Saturday.

The winners this year were:

Gold—Parkway Cardiology-Paddle Attack, from the Health and Wellness Division, with a time of 01:07.301;
Silver—Charlotte Dragon Boat Association-Charlotte Fury (the defending champions), from the Crazy about Dragon Boats Division, with a time of 01:08.278; and
Bronze—Glenwood Elementary School-Glenwood Gliders, from the Education Division, with a time of 01:08.759.

See the results of this year’s races here: 2015 Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Race Results. [Read more…]

Dragon Boat Festival includes races, music, beer garden, kids area

Posted at 9:33 pm May 27, 2015
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Dragon boats are pictured above at the Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival at Melton Lake Park on May 31, 2014. (Submitted photo)

The second annual Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival this weekend will include dragon boat races, music, vendors, a youth area for kids, and a beer garden.

The Oak Ridge Marina boat ramp will be closed on Friday, May 29, and Saturday, May 30, for the festival, organizers said. They expect increased traffic congestion on Melton Lake Drive this weekend. Organizers are encouraging those who attend to park at Roane State Community College on Briarcliff Avenue and catch a ride in a bus or van to the waterfront.

Thirty or or more teams of 20 paddlers each are expected in Oak Ridge for the 2015 Dragon Boat Festival.

The festival, which will raise money for local charities, will start on Friday evening, May 29, with a “Lanterns on the Lake” ceremony, music, beer garden, and other festivities. [Read more…]

Second Dragon Boat Festival scheduled for May 30

Posted at 10:40 pm January 28, 2015
By Carolyn Krause Leave a Comment

Dragon boats at the first Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival on May 31, 2014, at Melton Lake Park. (Submitted photo)

The second annual Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival will be held Saturday, May 30, at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park. The annual festival was launched a year ago by the three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge.

This year, the festival will be preceded by an evening social event and beer garden on Friday, May 29, at the park. For the dragon boat paddlers and other visitors from out of town, the host hotel is Comfort Inn of Oak Ridge.

The festival’s organizing committee is headed by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, immediate past president of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge. Chairs and members of the steering committee and subcommittees are members of this club, the Breakfast Club, and the Sunset Club. [Read more…]

Thirty dragon boat teams ready to race May 31

Posted at 2:10 pm May 28, 2014
By Carolyn Krause Leave a Comment

Penny Behling of Dynamic Dragon Boat Races LLC of Knoxville takes over as steerer of this dragon boat during a race in Owenboro, Ky., and gets the team back on course. (Submitted photo)

The inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park.

The three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge are launching this fundraiser for community nonprofit service organizations.

Dragon boat racing is the eighth-fastest growing sport in the world. And the races will take place on Oak Ridge’s signature rowing venue, considered one of the three best courses for regattas in the nation.

Starting at 9 a.m., 30 dragon boat teams—three from Kentucky and North Carolina—will race at least twice, with the 12 winners of two rounds racing in the third round.

The festival offers food and beverage vendors, beer garden, kids area at the pavilion with bounce houses and 15-minute martial arts lessons on the hour, two Tai Chi demonstrations, and awards ceremonies for winners of the morning Drummers Parade and the third round of dragon boat races. [Read more…]

Twenty dragon boat teams ready to race May 31

Posted at 1:40 pm May 4, 2014
By Carolyn Krause Leave a Comment

Teams take part in the annual Dragon Boat Festival in Taipei on May 28, 2009. Originally the summer event was a time to ward off bad spirits but now it is a celebration of the life of Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet who opposed the corruption of the imperial court. More than 200 teams from Taiwan and abroad will compete in the three-day race. AFP PHOTO / PATRICK LIN (Photo credit should read PATRICK LIN/ AFP/ Getty Images)

Commit to a competitive sport and community support.

That could be the motto of the inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival, a fundraiser for community nonprofit service organizations that will be launched by the three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge.

Already at least 20 boat teams are being organized, with more expected to register soon at http://oakridge.racedragonboats.com/.

At least 15 companies and organizations have paid or pledged a total of more than $25,000.

The Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival will be held Saturday, May 31, at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park. [Read more…]

Organizers announce new date for Dragon Boat Festival in May

Posted at 2:25 pm December 30, 2013
By Carolyn Krause Leave a Comment

The first team to pull out the flag at the end of a dragon boat race in Colorado wins the 150-meter competition. (Jeff Towery, provided by Colorado Dragon Boat Festival)

The three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge, which are planning to launch the inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival this spring, have announced a change of date for the community fundraiser. The festival will be held Saturday, May 31, 2014, at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park.

In addition, the clubs have announced a new website for the Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival: http://oakridge.racedragonboats.com/.

“The purpose of the festival is to provide a venue for dragon boat races, offer food and musical entertainment, and raise funds for a special project and 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, launched by OARS in the Water, will celebrate Oak Ridge’s waterfront and signature rowing venue. OARS stands for the Oak Ridge Association of Rotarians. The other two clubs are the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary and Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary clubs. [Read more…]

Rotary clubs plan dragon boat races at Oak Ridge Marina in May

Posted at 10:11 pm November 20, 2013
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Teams take part in the annual Dragon Boat Festival in Taipei on May 28, 2009. (Photo credit Patrick Lin/AFP/Getty Images)

Three local Rotary clubs are launching the city’s first Dragon Boat Festival on May 17 at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park.

The boat racing event, launched by OARS in the Water, will celebrate Oak Ridge’s waterfront and signature rowing venue. OARS stands for the Oak Ridge Association of Rotarians. The other two clubs are the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary and Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary clubs. [Read more…]