Springfield Dragon Boat Festival

The 10th annual Springfield Dragon Boat Festival brought hundreds of people to the Connecticut River to celebrate the Chinese culture and see some fast and exhilarating boat races.
Jim Broderick with the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club said joining together with the Chinese Association of Western Massachusetts helped to make this event a unique one.

“They brought a wonderful component to the festival because now we get the Chinese cultural portion to it which makes it more special, we do the racing but now we incorporate the Chinese component which is where it started,” said Broderick.

There were 28 teams competing at the event and each boat team had 8 men, 8 women and a drummer. Each race was 200 meters which is the size of about two football fields and it lasts for about a minute.

Steven Connor, a member of Veterans Dragon Boat USA said he has been doing the race for several years.

“It was a chance to get back into team sports, team work, all that kind of stuff and being someone who was in the military. It’s all about the person next to you, on both sides of you, the guy behind you and in front of you and having their back. This is a way for veterans to get back in that mode,” said Connor.

This race was not the only festivity of the day. There was also music, food trucks and a variety of cultural performances. The festival also included a cancer survivor, flower ceremony on the river and an award ceremony for the winners.

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