THE FREE 24th ANNUAL HONG KONG DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL IN NY TAKES PLACE ON MEADOWS LAKE, FLUSHING MEADOWS CORONA PARK SAT AUG. 9th & SUN AUG 10th from 9am-5pm rain or shine. CELEBRATING THE YEAR OF THE HORSE
A FREE 2 DAY INTERNATIONAL, MULTICULTURAL SPORTING AND CULTURAL EVENT WITH 180+ TEAMS (comprising approx 2,500 competitors) FROM AROUND THE WORLD COMPETING FOR CASH & PRIZES.
SEE www.hkdbf-ny.org for directions and further information.
A COLORFUL HONG KONG TRADITION RETURNS TO NYC – THE 24th ANNUAL HONG
KONG DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL in NY THE OLDEST, LARGEST, MOST
TRADITIONAL DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL IN THE US – LAUNCHES ON MEADOW LAKE,FLUSHING MEADOWS CORONA PARK QUEENS, NY SATURDAY AUG 9th & SUNDAY, AUG 10th, 2014 – WITH CASH & PRIZES at STAKE!
RECORD NUMBER OF TEAMS ANTICIPATED –180+
JULY 30th , 2014 NY, NY – In Celebration of the “Year of the Horse,” the Board of Directors of the 24th Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York (HKDBF-NY) announce that this Free Multicultural Festival and Sporting Event will be held Saturday, August 9th & Sunday, August 10th, 2014. Featuring cash & prizes for competitors in this year’s US Dragon Boat Open Championship. New festival events consist of several Special/Invitational Cup races. Celebrating the anniversary of the World’s Fair, we are holding the World’s Fair Municipal Invitational race featuring various teams from our elected officials, Mayor De Blasio, Queens Borough President Katz, Congresswoman Meng and Assemblyman Kim’s office were invited to field a team as well as the NYC government agencies NYPD, NYFD, DEP and Parks Department. Other special races include the Hong Kong Family Invitational, The Health Care Invitational and The Educational Invitational. This year’s Corporate Invitational looks to be a good one, with ten Corporate Teams joining us to race for their companies. The Festival will be held at Meadow Lake, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, New York rain or shine. Admission is free.
HKDBF-NY, an international, multi-cultural celebration and sporting event, the largest multicultural Festival in New York and the largest
festival of its kind in the U.S. HKDBF NY keeps up the age old tradition of Dragon Boat Racing in colorful, custom made teak boats,
which are virtual works of art gliding on water. Custom made by a small coterie of craftsmen in Hong Kong, weighing one ton each, colorfully
painted with a Dragon head at the front and Dragon tail at the rear, the boats are piloted by up to 20 crewmen, including 18 paddlers, a
drummer and steers person. For twenty-three successful years HKDBF-NY has attracted a diverse, multi-cultural audience of more than 50,000
attendees throughout North America. With a record number of teams participating 188+ well-trained teams, involving more than 2,500
participants competing from across the U.S. and Canada, this year’s festival is expected to be notable in its scale and fierce competition.
With cash & prizes at stake for the US Dragon Boat Open Championships, the festival takes place over two days on the site of the 1964 World’s
Fair, featuring events for the entire family. The opening day parade at noon on Saturday, Aug. 9th will be followed by the New York City
Heritage Championship Races. The U.S. Dragon Boat Open Championship finals will be held Saturday/Sunday, with the teams vigorously
competing for their share of the cash & prizes. Racing starts at 9:00 a.m. and events last throughout the day until approximately 5:00 p.m.
each day, rain or shine. Other festival events consist of the media invitational, corporate youth, charity race, women’s invitational, and
sponsors challenge, a photo contest as well as presentations on the Main Stage of traditional Chinese arts, martial arts
demonstrations, the traditional Dragon dance, musical and other diverse performances and demonstrations of folk arts and crafts. An International food court, and booths staffed by sponsors of the event, many of whom will be giving away promotional items, and many community-based organizations participating help make
for a unique, action packed, multi-cultural, New York weekend.
The tradition of Dragon Boat Racing is an annual Chinese rite commemorating the idealistic poet and reformer Qu Yuan who drowned
himself in the third century B.C. to protest against his emperor’s policies. The locals raced in their boats in an attempt to rescue the poet. To prevent fish and water dragons from eating his body, the locals beat their drums and splashed their paddles. This was the beginning of Dragon Boat Racing
Admission to the HKDBF-NY is Free, Events take place Rain or Shine.
Directions to the Festival by car – take the Long Island Expressway to Van Wyck Expressway to exit 11 south, then stay on service road to the Park. Parking is severely limited. Please take the MTA or car pool. Directions to the Festival by bus/subway –Again this year we’ve worked with the MTA to insure easy and safe transportation to the Festival site. Festival goers can use their MetroCard to take the #7 Train to the CitiField stop and transfer from there to special MTA shuttle buses that will take them directly to the Festival site, or they can walk from the CitiField stop (about 15 minutes) or take the colorful park trolley to the festival site. Parking on-site is limited, you can park at CitiField and take the special MTA shuttle with your MetroCard or use correct change.
Downloadable photos are available at www.hkdbf-ny.org . (web designed and maintained by Fusia Communications)
This year’s Sponsors include; the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, NY; Corporate Supporter HSBC Bank USA.,N.A.; Emblem Health, Con Edison, New York Community Bank, Toyota, AXA, Verizon FIOS, Shanghai Commercial Bank, New York -Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, Resorts World NYC, Standard Chartered Bank, Queens College, Flushing Bank, New York Hospital Queens, Berkeley College, Nong Shim, Sheraton La Guardia East Hotel, Vallo Transportation, Ltd., Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens Chamber of Commerce, Office of the Queensborough President, Melinda Katz, NYC &Co, Discover Queens.
Media &Creative Partners: WNBC TV 4, New York Daily News, Sing Tao Daily News, The Queens Courier, GoodNews Broadcast.com, RNN, MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting, Inc.(AM1480, Sino Television, Sinocast, M-Weekly Magazine), Fusia Communications, Inc., Inak Design ,YELP, RCN. Additional support provided by The Times Ledger Newspaper Group, Tinnie Advertising & Promotions, MyFoodMagz . Contributing Supporters TMI Trading, Sunrise Soya Foods, Naked Juice, ChinamericaHitRadio, Golden Fortune I/E Corp, (Mr. Brown Coffees & Want Want Rice Crackers), Bruce Cost Ginger Ale
THE HONG KONG DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL IN NEW YORK IS AN NON PROFIT (501 C3) ORGANIZATION
Concert for A WORLD WITHOUT WAR