Travel NC With Kids: 2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival at High Rock Lake

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

On July 30, 2016 the Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival at High Rock Lake offered plenty of entertainment beneath the graceful white wings of egrets in the sky and the methodical ripple of waves below.

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

This was the third annual Dragon Boat Festival to support Rowan County's Chamber of Commerce with money going to help the county's small business programs and services.

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

If you have never heard of dragon boat racing, you are not alone. I only learned of the sport a couple of years ago when my brother joined a team. However, dragon boat racing began about 2,000 years ago in China.

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

Each team at the festival included twenty people. The dragon boats were the long variety and were wide enough to fit two paddlers side-by-side.

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

One team member sits at the bow facing the stern and all teammates. That person taps a steady drum beat to help those who are paddling work together in a fluid motion. The drummer has to have a bit of faith in the steersperson because the drummer rides backwards.

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

At the stern stands someone who steers the boat with a 10-foot oar. A few teams who have been racing for a while provide their own person to steer, but most teams rely on having an experienced steersperson provided by High Five, who also provided the boats, oars, life vests, and instructions for novice teams.

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

Although we arrived around lunch time, we heard they had a nice start to the festival with the rescue squad boat spraying water out in the lake while the national anthem played.

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

We have had a hot summer in these parts, but the morning temperatures were kept somewhat at bay by clouds. The afternoon races heralded full sun without a hint of giving up from the teams. The waves were a bit rougher in the afternoon as more people were out boating on the lake.

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

Three teams faced off for each round until the final race in which four teams competed. Many of the races were extremely close...within inches of each other at the finish line.

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

Teams carefully loaded several folks on the boat at a time and then eased the boat a bit farther into the water until the whole group was ready to shove off and head to the starting line. They were quite organized to get so many people in and out of the boats quickly for each race.

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

Many of the teams were people who work together and who knew one another, so this race gave participants a chance to go beyond the comfort zone with friends and to enjoy a memorable summer day together.

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

Most who came were not experts at dragon boat racing; they were librarians, cancer survivors, seniors, co-workers, friends, neighbors. Overall it was a pretty friendly competition.

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

Some teams decided to wear matching shirts, and one team sported hats that looked like bright red hair on top.

2016 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival ©Photo by Katrena

A few drummers wore wild and crazy outfits to add more festivity to the occasion and perhaps win a prize.

The races tended to be quite close. I would say times that had to go to 0.01 second to determine rank were pretty darn close!

Even teams who had very little or no experience really did not take very long to work together and become pretty competitive. I didn't see anyone on the boat teams going overboard, but a few spectators took a dip in the lake.

Quite a few vendors were at the event, offering a wide range of foods, drinks, and frozen options. We didn't have to walk to or from the parking area - we just hopped on the trolley and enjoyed the ride. Extra credit goes to the Chick-fil-A cow - the afternoon was really hot out there without wearing a suit!

Visit this Salisbury Post article for a list of the winners for the 2016 Dragon Boat Festival. The Chamber offered prizes for several different categories and also offered a raffle with several different prizes. The Rowan Chamber of Commerce has a Facebook page that you might also want to visit for more about the festival.