The biggest Asian cultural festival in Colorado and one of the biggest nationally is still in its infancy.
Six years after the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival opened, Denver wants to improve its dragon boat race, the festival’s main draw, to include competitive teams, homegrown coxswain and expanded divisions.
“If we can do that,” says Tom Ging, chairman of the racing committee, “I think dragon boat racing will really take off in Denver.”
The race is part of the greater Colorado Dragon Boat Festival taking place from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at Sloans Lake at 17th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard. The celebration includes demonstrations of Asian culture, a food marketplace and the boat race Sunday.
Last year, the festival drew close to 85,000 people, amazing considering Denver’s sparse Asian population. (Almost 85 percent of attendees were non-Asian.) This year, organizers expect 100,000, largely because of the boat race.
“This is a team water sport that’s different than other water sports,” said Ding Wen Hsu, chair of the operating committee. “The cultural element … makes it very interesting.”
Here’s how the race works. Two teams line up in boats. Their target: a flag attached to a dragon head jutting from a platform 200 meters away.
A drummer sits at the prow of each boat, setting the pace for 18 paddlers. The first team to reach the flag and pull it off its hook wins.
Forty-eight teams will compete in a double-elimination tournament, and each race lasts between 60 and 70 seconds.
“It is a growing sport,” Ging says. “Dragon boat racing is big in the Midwest; however, if you were to visit their dragon boat festivals, all you’re going to see is races. They don’t have the cultural component we have in our festival.”
The Colorado Dragon Boat Festival imports the boats from Iowa and uses hired coxswain – the people who steer – “a very specialized position,” Ging says. Without boats, none of the teams have the opportunity to practice. On Saturday, the festival trains the teams for the next day’s race.
By next year, Ging hopes to purchase some dragon boats – priced at about $16,000 to $18,000 – so teams can practice year round. Ging also wants to add a breast-cancer survivor’s bracket, which other festivals have adopted.
Still, financial difficulties remain that affect storage, lake time and the boats themselves.
“It’s a hook,” Ging says of the race. “I think the races are one of the main attractions to draw people to the festival. And then once they get to the festival, they see what else is available – the continuous performances on the stage, the taste of Asia, the food court and everything else.”
Staff writer Scott Lieber can be reached at 303-820-1694 or at slieber@denverpost.com
| Colorado Dragon Boat Festival
BOAT RACES, FESTIVAL|Sixth annual festival includes marketplace, food contests and dragon boat races; Sloans Lake, Sheridan Boulevard and West 17th Avenue|10:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday|FREE
