North Beach MD Dragon Boat Racing Festival Supports End Hunger In Calvert County

What’s with all the talk about the dragon boat racing festival coming to North Beach MD?

Let me tell you a little story about how it all came to be.

Earlier this year Reverend Robert Hahn, who is the chairman of End Hunger in Calvert County and leader of Chesapeake Church, spoke to the Bay Business Group (BBG) with a clever idea to raise money for his charity and bring the community together. As a very active Bay Business Group member I couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say.

Rev. Hahn presented his idea of starting an annual dragon boat racing festival right off the board walk in North Beach, MD. The goal of this event is to raise more than $100,000 for the charity and bring thousands of people to North Beach area during the week of the event. While he didn’t expect to hit the 100K mark the first year he thought it is definitely attainable in the next several years.

After his presentation it was clear that we all were in favor of the event. With the support of the BBG Rev. Hahn was successfully able to the pitch the idea to the town and begin making the necessary arrangements. The BBG was the first organization to officially put together a team of people in support of the event.

The Dragon Boat Racing Festival Experience:
The dragon boat race will take place in North Beach right in front of the boardwalk. This areas will allow plenty of room for spectators that aren’t racing at the moment or just want to partake in all the festivities. In addition to all the local establishments in North Beach there will be additional food vendors and businesses showing off their wares. Food vendors are able to purchase spots for $230 and business can purchase spots for $50.

In the water, two dragon boats will be competing against each other down a 200 meter course in a double elimination style event (think march madness). Each race will take about 1-2 minutes and is fast moving throughout the day.

A dragon boat holds 16 people and 1 drummer to set the rhythm. It isn’t a strenuous activity and can be done by people young and old (but it doesn’t hurt to get doctors approval if you are concerned). There is a cost of $125 per person to paddle in a boat. All money raised goes to charity and your donation is tax deductible.

Dragon boat racing is a great way to encourage friendly competition among businesses, organizations, friends, and family. I highly encourage you to compete and/or come out to experience the fun. It will be the event of the year that you won’t want to miss!

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Schedule For Race Day (June 22, 2013):
6-8AM: Setup team tent
8-8:30AM: Team check-in
8:30AM: Team captain meeting
9:00AM: Dragon boat races officially begin
3:00PM: Official start of awards ceremony

2013 Teams & Tee Shirt Colors
Thai Paddlers – Charcoal Gray
Blue Dragons in Nuclear Paradise (Constellation) – Sapphire Blue
Team SMECO – Lime Green
Town of North Beach – Royal Blue
Town of Chesapeake Beach – Cardinal Red
Bay Business Group – Light Pink
The Law Dawggs – Light Gray
Psyc Vikes – Sky Blue
Civil Oars – Jade (Teal)
Seize the Bay – Neon Green/Yellow
Chesapeake Pharmacy Paddlers
MissFits 1- Orchid (light purple)
MissFits 2 – Orchid (light purple)
Team Toucan – Yellow
Titanic – Tennessee Orange

Team Puff – Electric Green
Drag’n Tail – Purple
Kiss Our Wake – Kiwi Green
Plan B: Ship Faced – Gray
Wednesday Wildcats – Neon Orange

Notes & Tips:
-All team participants must have a signed waiver on file
-All team participants must wear the given wristbands at all times
-Each team will have practice sometime during the week of June 17, 2013
-The dotting of the eye ceremony will be held Friday June 21, 2013 at 7:00PM on the North Beach Boardwalk

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http://www.endhungercalvert.org/dragonboat

PS: I’ll be racing in the BBG boat so I hope to see you there.

Does this sound like fun? Are you planning on attending and/or competing? Drop us a comment below!