Dragon Boat Festival
Sunday, September 30, 10:00am-5:00pm
Gallup Park (2970 Fuller Rd.)
The first ever University-sponsored Chinese dragon boat race comes to Ann Arbor as part of a campus/community festival to launch the ChinaNow LSA Theme Year – a series of ground-breaking lectures, exhibitions, symposia, films, and performances building up to the 2008 Olympics.
Dragon boat races (the second most popular water sport in the world) are the heartbeat of the festival, a centuries old tradition in China. Teams of twenty paddlers per boat comprised of U-M departments, student organizations, and the community will race to drummer's beats in heats throughout the day. Activities on the banks of the river include a drum and gong procession (U-M Percussion Ensemble), lion dancing (Asian Martial Arts Studio), performances by high energy percussion group Groove, Chinese opera-style face painting, kite making, yo-yo spinning (Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan), food, and more. The festival is a green event to bring about greater awareness of natural resources, particularly water.
A collaboration with the U-M Center for Chinese Studies. Part of the ChinaNow LSA Theme Year series of outreach events.
