The Lake James Dragon Boat Festival is back.
After being postponed in October because of Hurricane Helene, the festival is moving to a new date, April 25. The festival is sponsored by UNC Health Blue Ridge in partnership with the Healing Dragons of Lake James.
Two dragon boats race to cross Lake James during the 2019 Lake James Dragon Boat Festival.
The event will include local and regional teams competing against each other in a series of heats. The first race starts at 9 a.m., and an awards ceremony will conclude the event around 4 p.m. Spectators are encouraged to come to the park with their lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy the festivities. Admission is free.
鈥淲e are happy to resume this event after having to postpone it due to Hurricane Helene last year,鈥 said Danette Brackett, VP and chief external affairs officer with UNC Health Blue Ridge. 鈥淲e decided to move the festival from October, which is prime hurricane season, to April. The festival is a fun way to bring awareness to the seriousness of breast cancer and how early detection is crucial.鈥
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The Lake James Dragon Boat Festival began with the formation of the Healing Dragons of Lake James, a team made up of breast cancer survivors. Proceeds from the event have always gone to provide mammograms for local women who do not have insurance or can鈥檛 afford a screening mammogram. In 2020-21, UNC Health Blue Ridge provided 172 women with free breast imaging procedures.
To honor that purpose, the event includes a moment of silence in honor or in memory of those who have battled breast cancer. Flowers will be available for purchase and placed on a cancer ribbon wreath during the survivor ceremony.
Since the 1970s, dragon boating has become popular in the United States and serves as a fundraiser and a tool for corporate team building. Teams with people from all walks of life, age, size, ability and gender can participate. Twenty paddlers are seated in 10 rows of two with a drummer sitting in the bow, facing the paddlers. The paddler鈥檚 job is to paddle in unison with the entire team. The drummer aims to beat the drum in sync with the paddlers and motivate their team to the finish line. A steersperson (provided by the festival organizers) stands at the stern of the boat, guiding the boat straight down the racecourse with a 9-foot oar.
鈥淲e hope you can join us,鈥 Brackett said. 鈥淎 spring day at Lake James is a good way to spend a Saturday.鈥
About the Healing Dragons of Lake James
The event began in 2015 with the local team, Healing Dragons of Lake James, a group of three women who had undergone breast cancer.
They found that exercise, especially the paddling motion, benefits recovery.
The team鈥檚 mission is to inspire, encourage and support survivors of all cancers to triumph over the disease.
Healing Dragons have grown to include volunteers, supporters, sponsors and survivors 鈥 all striving to improve the quality of life for cancer survivors and their families through knowledge, education and friendship.
