Dragon Boats

Dragon boat racing is the most popular activity during the Dragon Boat Festival. This old custom has been held for more than 2,500 years throughout southern China, and now it has become an international sport.

One common folklore for dragon boating is that it came into existence because of the drowning of Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan’ was a Chu State official in the Warring States Period (343-278 BC) and he was the earliest famous poet in China.  When the Chu capital fell, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River in order to protest against the political corruption. When people heard of Qu Yuan’s drowning, they rushed out on to the river in their fishing boats and tried to save Qu Yuan. They beat their drums and splashed the water with paddles to keep the fish and evil spirits away from Yuan’s body. On return to shore, the dejected fishermen decided that if they had been better paddlers, the outcome could have been different and thus they began to train. To commemorate this sacrifice, the people began to organize Dragon Boat Festivals in his memory. Since then, dragon boat racing has become a major part of Chinese culture, representing patriotism and group integrity. It is said that the date of Qu Yuan’s drowning was the 5th day of the 5th lunar month of the Chinese lunar calendar (May-June), which the festival is celebrated on to this day.

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Introducing Boats at Festival: Dragon Boat Awakening Ceremony:

In Chinese mythology, a dragon boat has a spirit. The spirit of the dragon boat slumbers in the mountains in off season and travels to the water when it is awakened. An Awakening ceremony is performed to respect the dragon and get him into a good and friendly mood towards paddlers and the community. You want the dragon’s protection, not his anger. It is considered very bad luck to paddle or race in a dragon boat that has not been properly awakened.  

Prior to putting the boats in the water, the eyes were dotted with red paint to give him sight, his tongue was painted to give him taste and the horns were painted to give him power. 

The ceremony called ‘Awakening the Dragon’ or ‘Dotting of the Eye’ traditionally involves a Taoist priest dotting the protruding eyes of the dragon head carved on the boats, thus ending its slumber. The ceremony is practice at many Dragon Boat events throughout the world today, sometimes with event dignitaries performing the ‘dotting of the eye’.

Type of food to eat:

According to the legend, the fishermen began throwing rice into the river as an offering to Qu Yuan, so that his spirit could be nourished in the next world. But one night, Qu Yuan appeared in a dream to one of the fishermen, telling him that the fish were eating the rice offerings, that to prevent it, the rice ought to be wrapped in silk – later replaced by bamboo leaves (called Zongzi or Doongs) – to protect the offerings.

The practice of making offerings of Zongzi's is an extremely important part of the Festival. For the gourmet, it is encouraging to note that the culinary treat is still widely practiced among Chinese communities all over the world.

Zongzi: traditional custom for Chinese to eat zongzi, a kind of sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves. It is made of glutinous rice with meat or some other filling and wrapped in bamboo leaves in the shape of a triangular pyramid.

Mission Statement:

To enhance and extend Ridgefield’s mission and City Council goals:

To connect more people to trails by demonstrating and celebrating the wide variety of benefits that they provide,

To instill excitement in our natural resources and for outdoor recreation, 

To encourage partnerships with local and regional outdoor organizations, agencies and trail groups,

To bring awareness to the natural resources/wildlife and cultural heritage of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Lake River and the Lewis River-Vancouver Lake Water Trail, and

To provide conservation and preservation education with a focus on water resources and Lake River.

To attract visitors to the waterfront and to provide an on-going outdoor recreation activity.

To expand diversity of people on the water and create education opportunities about different cultures.

While the focus is a fun outdoor activity to showcase Ridgefield and the waterfront, the culture and history of the boats will be remembered & honored and their story told.

Team Calapya is now independent from the City of Ridgefield. If you have interest in joining the team, please contact Coach Amy Stevens.

This City of Ridgefield has two boats that were manufactured in China and acquired by the City after over 20 years of use by the Portland Rose Festival. Many volunteers dedicated their time and resources to restoring the boats for the community to enjoy during the summer months.

The Dragon Boat program wouldn't be possible without the help of:

• Ridgefield Art Association: The Ridgefield Art Association stepped up to create the colorful design on the boats, painting the boats (with masks during COVID) and doing much needed sanding and paint touch ups before the Dragon Boat season this year. A special thank you to Maureen O'Reilly and Barbara Wright.
• Ridgefield Lion’s Club: When we received the boats, they were in more need of repair than anticipated. The Lion's Club took the lead on assuring fiberglass repair was completed, donated funds to the program and obtained paint donations from Bob's Paintland. A special recognition to Rob Aichele and Don Stose.
• Bob’s Paintland: The Dragon Boats would not be as visually appealing without the generous donations, including the special paint needed donated by Bob's Paintland. 
• Port of Ridgefield and Joe Melroy: The boats were built in China and acquired from another dragon boat team. The City did not have a place to store them. And because they had been used for several years, they were in need of repair and repainting.  Joe Melroy brought the boats to Ridgefield, obtained permission from the Port to store them at the waterfront and – in partnership with Mark Shaff – built a place to store, including a pulley system for placement of the very heavy boats. And, built a stable place for the container that holds all of the dragon boat gear. Joe Melroy also came up with a way to move the boats in and out of Lake River.