WHY DRAGON BOAT RACING?
The Charlevoix Circle of Arts will host its inaugural Dragon Boat Festival in early August to help support its mission to cultivate a more inspired and educated community through the arts.  Dragon Boat Races are a rapidly growing sport combining rich Chinese traditions, competition, team building and LOTS OF FUN!  A typical dragon boat is 46’ long and feature 20 paddlers, 1 drummer and 1 steersman.  During the course of the race, the job of the drummer is to keep an effective beat in order to synchronize the paddlers.  Our Dragon Boat Race will be approximately 250 meters long and last a few minutes.  Each team is guaranteed to race at least two times. The boats are truly works of art.  They are colorful crafts with dragon scales including a dragon head and tail.  The Opening Ceremony begins with a practice known as “Awakening the Dragon” in which the dragon’s eyes are dotted just prior to the race to symbolize the dragon coming to life. Join in the fun at this Michigan Dragon Boat Race in Charlevoix the Beautiful.