Dragon Boat

I attended the 12th annual Colorado Dragon Boat Festival over the weekend. This celebration of Asian Culture has grown each year both in attendance, the size of the venue and the number of vendors and exhibitors.

The Festival is held at Sloan’s Lake on Denver’s northwest side. The completion by the city of the new marina and related facilities has allowed the ‘Dragon’s footprint to extend farther east than in the past. With the increased attendance and multiple performance spaces this is helpful as it helps the volume overlap (particularly the new Band stage in the beer garden).

The new marina and dock allowed for the use of WOW balls for kids near the Dragonland children’s area. WOW (Walk on Water) balls are like giant clear plastic hamster balls. They look like fun, and I even thought that I might like to try, but then…..

There is always a risk that as an event grows that its original purpose gets lost in the growth. So far that has not happened with CDBF. Although there seems to be less attention paid to the Dragon Boat races themselves by most visitors than to the Marketplace and Asian Food Court vendors as well as the performance stages. But then, while the boat races are central to the festival, the broader mission is the celebration of the various Asian Pacific cultures and that works.

This is a fun festival, even in the heat – but then that is why there are parasols.