Atlanta Dragon Boat Festival

The Hong Kong Information Center in Atlanta conducts Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival on 2nd Saturday in September. The Festival took place every year at Lake Lanier on the same venue that hosted the 1996 Summer Olympic Games Rowing and Paddling events. Activities commenced with races beginning at 9 am and the colorful Opening Ceremonies at noon. The race has grown from a handful of teams and a few spectators to an event which is one of the hallmark diversity events in the metro Atlanta area. The event now boasts a field of more than 50 teams with over 5,000 spectators and a wide variety of Chinese artisans either performing or displaying their wares.

The legend of the festival is quite interesting. The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival is undoubtedly one of Hong Kong's most popular events, drawing thousands of spectators and racing teams from across the globe. The popularity of this event is growing at a surprising rate throughout the world but especially in the USA, Canada and Europe.

Since 1976, when Hong Kong introduced the world's first international races, dragon boat racing has grown in popularity, with clubs and associations forming in countries throughout Asia, Europe and North America and competitions taking place in cities around the world. The colorful Asian tradition turned exciting international sporting event has attracted quite a following in the United States as well. Moving into its eighth year, the Atlanta event is part of a series of races taking place in major metropolitan areas along the east coast including Boston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York.