BY AMANDA MOSES
The 30th Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival blazed back in full force to Flushing Meadows, Corona Park after running at limited capacity for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On July 30th and 31st, the free multicultural festival saw thousands of attendees traversing the parkland enjoying dragon boat races, giveaways from a wide array of booths, dozens of food trucks, and so
much more. With performances honoring Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) culture, the event organizers sought to bring about awareness to anti-Asian hate crimes as well as encourage wellness
through continued COVID-19 testing and vaccinations.
The Dragon Boat Festival became a time-honored tradition based on the legend of a poet named Court Minister Qu Yuan who was exiled from his home region of Chu after disagreeing with the king on how his
people were treated. His homeland was invaded, leaving Yuan to be so overwhelmed with despair he threw himself into the Mu Lo River. A nearby fisherman attempted to save Yuan by racing up the river,
banging a drum and splashing his paddle to deter the fish and water dragons from eating the poet, but despite his efforts Yuan drowned.
What was once observed by the fishman in Lantau, Lamma crossed the seas from Asia to America, where racers board a boat that has a dragon head crafted onto it. Each dragon boat holds 18 paddlers, a
drummer and a steers person to compete against over 150 teams to become champions.
Photos by Amanda Moses
