HONG KONG DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL in NEW YORK AUG 7. Good News has been a Media Partner for over 15 years!
BREAKING NEWS ON THE RACE FRONT FOR SAT- A Special Match Race between the Mayor’s Office “City Hall Dragons” and a Team from the Queen’s Borough President’s Office is now scheduled for 11:30am.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- DAASSOCIATESPR-914-299-0837 –DAAssociatesPR@gmail.com www.hkdbf-ny.org
A COLORFUL HONG KONG TRADITION RETURNS TO NEW YORK- THE 2021 ANNUAL HONG KONG DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL in NEW YORK ONE DAY ONLY –THIS SAT AUG 7th. PRESENTED BY HSBC
DRAGONS, MULTI-CULTURAL PERFORMERS, INVADE MEADOW LAKE, FLUSHING MEADOWS CORONA PARK, QUEENS, NY– FREE, SAFE FUN FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY – THIS SAT 8/07 2021 9am-4pm . Free, rain or shine- www.hkdbf-ny.org THE OLDEST, LARGEST, MOST TRADITIONAL DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL IN THE US!
AUG 5, 2021- NY, NY – In Celebration of the “Year of the Ox” the Board of Directors of the 2021 Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York (HKDBF-NY) a Free Multicultural Festival and Sporting Event, announce that they will be holding a scaled down, one day event Saturday, August 7th, 2021.
Henry Wan Chairman of the board states “We feel it is very important for HKDBFNY to have an event this year focusing on 3 major issues; vaccination/public health safety; HKDBFNY’s contribution to the reopening of the NYC economy; and bringing a focus to the anti-Asian + other hate crime issue. We look forward to hosting a fully vaccinated audience this year.”
All current Covid protocols will be followed. Only fully vaccinated attendees/racers or those with proof of negative covid test within 72 hours of the event will be admitted. A Vaccine Team from new york state of health will be on hand providing covid shots to those who wish them. Northwell Health will also be in attendance with health information related to covid recovery +.
Festival events will consist of several Special/Invitational races. A Special Match Race between the Mayor’s Office “City Hall Dragons” and a Team from the Queen’s Borough President’s Office is now scheduled for 11:30. The land side activities for the one day Festival will be held in the enclosed Model Airplane Field and racing as usual will be on Meadow Lake, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, New York rain or shine. Admission is free.
Due to covid HKDBF-NY, the 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 was not held in 2020. HKDBF-NY plans to keep up the age old tradition of Dragon Boat Racing this year and looks forward to a large 30th Anniversary Festival in 2022. Each, colorfully painted boat with Dragon head at the front and Dragon tail at the rear are piloted by up to 20 crewmen, including 18 paddlers, a drummer and steers person. This year we will be observing all covid protocols so racing teams size will be reduced.
For twenty-nine successful years HKDBF-NY has attracted a diverse, multi-cultural audience of more than 40,000 attendees throughout North America. The festival will takes place just one day this year on the site of the 1964 World’s Fair, featuring events for the entire family. The opening ceremony will take place at noon on Saturday, Aug.7th. Racing starts at 9:00 a.m. and events last throughout the day until approximately 4:00 p.m. rain or shine.
This year we will have presentations on the Main Stage of traditional Chinese arts, from the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York, Dance China NY from the New York Chinese Cultural Center, martial arts demonstrations by the ever popular Shaolin Monks and a steel drum performance from the CASYM Steel Orchestra. Master storyteller Jonathan Kruk also joins us again. This year in lieu of our traditional International food court we have invited several food trucks. Booths staffed by sponsors of the event, and a number of community-based organizations will participate to help make for a unique, action packed, multi-cultural, New York event.
The tradition of Dragon Boat Racing is an annual Chinese rite commemorating the idealistic poet and performer 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 – Festival attendees
Please take the MTA or shuttle bus with your MetroCard or use correct change. Again this year we’ve worked with the MTA to insure easy and safe transportation to the Festival site. Festival attendees 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.
Downloadable photos are available at www.hkdbf-ny.org . (web designed and maintained by Fusia Communications)
This year’s Sponsors include
Presenting Sponsor HSBC Bank USA.,N.A.; Con Edison, New York Community Bank, Shanghai Commercial Bank, Flushing Bank, new york state of health, Resorts World, Verizon, Empire State Bank, Be The Match, Cathay Bank, Long Island Jewish Forest Hills*Northwell Health, Citibus Corp, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens Chamber of Commerce, Office of the Queensborough President, NYC & Co, MTA, Discover Queens.
Media &Creative Partners: PIX11, Sing Tao Daily News, The Queens Courier, AMNY, GoodNews Broadcast.com, MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting, Inc.(AM1480, Sino Television, Sinocast, M-Weekly Magazine), Fusia Communications, Inc., Inak Design. Additional support provided by the Queens Chronicle, ChinaAmericaRadio, YELP, and The Island.
The Right Kind of People, the right kind of world :)