Join the fun for the 6th annual Carolina Beach Dragon Boat Regatta and Festival in Sunny Carolina Beach right on the Atlantic Ocean on September 20-21, 2019.
This is the 6th annual event in Sunny Carolina Beach right on the Atlantic Ocean, New Hanover County, North Carolina! Please join the Island Men on September 20th-21st for two days of activities. We will be racing on a 300m race course along the shores of the Carolina Beach Yacht Basin, a protected area of water lined with beach homes, condos, and marinas. Community teams will be racing along with a few club teams from around the region.
This event brings together sports, health and wellness, and arts to celebrate our island community.
On Friday,September 20th, the event kicks off with an exciting Opening Ceremony. Join us for a live concert, food, beer, and sodas available at the Dragon Boat Team Village, located in the public parking lot on Canal Drive, behind the SeaWitch Café and TIKI Bar. The live band will start at 6pm!
Saturday, September 21st is Race Day with races starting at 9am. Teams will be competing for trophies with awards for: The overall Champion, 1st place teams in each category, the most spirited team, and the team with the best costumes.
You can join in as a participant by forming a Team of friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers, or customers, and raising the donation for entering a team. Each team will need 21 members – 20 paddlers and one drummer to keep the pace. Individuals can also enter and join an ad hoc team.
Saturday also includes a large festival of vendors around the Marina who will be displaying artwork, jewelry, sports related products, shirts, and food items for sale.
Saturday just after the finals in the late afternoon (4pm) the winners will be announced and trophies will be awarded at the main stage.
Come join the festivities as a Team, Vendor, or Spectator! Spectator sites will be announced prior to the event – this is a family fun event so we encourage participants to bring along your children and friends to enjoy the fun!
About Dragon Boating
With a history of more than 2,500 years, the sport of dragon boating originated in ancient China. The legends include warring states, radical politics and fierce loyalty and passion written poetically by one man – Qu Yuan. This man was exiled from the land that he loved, and in turn, committed suicide in the Miluo River in a final form of protest against the corruption of his era. During an attempt to save Qu Yuan, the locals took to the river in their fishing boats, splashing their paddles to keep the water demons and evil spirits away.
Modern-day dragon boating has few elements to this ancient tale remaining. However, it has evolved into a worldwide competitive sport, bringing together millions across the globe annually. Festivals with traditional Asian flare and culture are commonplace alongside a dragon boat race in recent years. High-level competitions have also been organized since the mid-1970s.
But the sport’s growth has been most commonly found at the grassroots level. Dragon boating has become an extremely popular vehicle for fundraising, and a tool for corporate team building. Local communities combine these two concepts to breath new life into their waterfront areas, and to stimulate their local economy.
Teams are formed with 18-25 people from all walks of life. Any age, size, ability, and gender can learn to paddle on a dragon boat team. 20 paddlers are seated in 10 rows of 2 with a drummer sitting in the bow, facing the paddlers. The paddler’s job is to paddle in unison with the entire team. The drummer’s job is to beat the drum in sync with the paddlers and to motivate their team to the finish line. A steersperson (provided by the festival) stands in the stern of the boat, guiding the boat straight down the race course with a 10-foot oar.
