FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WWW.HKDBF-NY.ORG – (COMPLETE SCHEDULE IS AVAILABLE ON LINE)
AUG. 13 & 14 A COLORFUL HONG KONG TRADITION RETURNS TO NEW YORK
THE 21st ANNUAL HONG KONG DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL in NEW YORK
THE OLDEST, LARGEST, MOST TRADITIONAL DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL IN THE US – LAUNCHES ON MEADOW LAKE TODAY SATURDAY AUGUST 13 & SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011 – WITH CASH & PRIZES at STAKE!
Aug. 13th, 2011 NY, NY – In Celebration of the “Year of the Rabbit the organizing committee of the 21st Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York (HKDBF-NY) announced that this year’s competition is to be held on Saturday, August 13th & Sunday, August 14th, 2011. It will feature cash & prizes for competitors in this year’s US Dragon Boat Open Championship. Other festival events consist of 4 special Cup races, the Breast Cancer Survivors Invitational, The Queens Chamber Centennial Cup, The Hong Kong Cup and the Municipal Cup featuring various teams from our elected officials. This year’s Corporate Invitational looks to be a very exciting one, with many Corporate Teams joining us to race for their company. On The VERIZON STAGE multi-cultural performances to be enjoyed by the whole family are featured both days. The Festival will be held at Meadow Lake, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, New York rain or shine. Admission is free.
HKDBF-NY, a multicultural celebration and sporting event, is 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 successful years HKDBF-NY has attracted a diverse, multi-cultural audience of more than 60,000 attendees throughout North America. With more than 180+ well-trained teams, involving more than 2,000 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, August 13th will be followed by the New York City Championship Races. The U.S. Dragon Boat Open Championship will be held on Sunday, August 14th 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 for the first time the Breast Cancer Survivors Invitational, Celebrating their 100th Anniversary The Queens Chamber of Commerce Presents their Centennial Cup Race, the Municipal Invitational returns with teams from various city agencies, as does the Hong Kong Invitational, the Media Invitational, the Corporate Youth Race, the popular Charity Race with $7,500.00 at stake to be distributed to various charities on behalf of the participants, the Women’s Invitational, and the Sponsors Challenge, on the land side attendees can get a preview of the 8th annual Sing Tao Photo Contest and enjoy multi-cultural performances on the VERIZON STAGE. Kicking off the performances on Saturday at 10;am we have a very Special Appearance by 12 year old Nina Sophia Mojares, singer, actress, dancer, pianist and songwriter who has been featured on America’s Got Talent Season 5 and selected as Maury Povich Show’s Most Talented Kid in 2010. She has written original songs entitled “Now It’s Time,” “It’s Possible” and “Leap of Faith”, now available on Itunes. She is also the current 2011 National Latin Junior Ballroom. Festival attendees can also experience the traditional Dragon dance, traditional Chinese arts, martial arts demonstrations by the very popular Shaolin Monks, great Blues from the Bruce Katz Band, musical and other diverse performances and demonstrations of folk arts and crafts. An ethnic food court and booths staffed by sponsors of the event many of whom will be giving away promotional items. Many community-based organizations participate as well making 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 – Best way to get to the Festival – 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.
This years Sponsors include; the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, NY; HSBC Bank USA, Verizon, Con Edison, J.P. Morgan Chase, New York Community Bank, Bank of China, Resort World Casino New York City, National Grid, State Farm, Western Union, Shanghai Commercial Bank, New York Hospital Queens, Sheraton La Guardia East Hotel, Shiseido, Vallo Transportation, Ltd., Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens Chamber of Commerce, Office of the Queensborough President, Helen Marshall, NYC &Co, and Discover Queens.
Media &Creative Partners: WNBC TV 4, The New York Times, 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, Time Warner Cable and RCN. Additional support provided by the Times Ledger Newspaper Group, and the NY Daily News.
Downloadable photos are available at www.hkdbf-ny.org .
Special hotel rates are available at several local hotels to encourage out of town team participation.
For information visit our website www.hkdbf-ny.org or call 718-767-1776
HKDBF NY-2011 is a non-profit, tax-exempt, cultural organization.
Aditional Video Images Courtesy of:
Gordon Skinner
&
Zen Alejandro
[ http://www.StarHorizonMedia.blogspot.com ]