Although dragon boat racing is an old and traditional sport, the Bucks County Dragon Boat Festival celebrated its third year on Saturday, raising money for the Bucks County Housing Group to put food on the shelves in area food pantries.
Laura Kent, one of the founding members of the Bucks County Dragon Boat Association, explained that while the festival has raised $75,000 through its first two years, the group this year aims to push that sum to $100,000.
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A dragon boat team consists of 20 paddlers, a steerer and a drummer. The team needs to be totally coordinated, or the race will not go as well as it could through careful coordination.
On Saturday, there were more than 70 teams that took to the water at Lake Luxembourg in Core Creek Park in Middletown over the weekend, totaling more than 1,540 racers.
Kent is joined by Kim Coates, Penny Ebinger and Judy Pearsall. The women graduated from Neshaminy together and use dragon boat racing as a way to stay connected and do things together,
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Ever since the first year of the festival, things have gone smoothly, Kent said.
“As soon as it finishes up, we start planning for the following year,” Kent explained.
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The week before the Bucks County Dragon Boat Festival, a team in the Bucks County Blazing Dragon family won a national title in a race held in Mercer County Park.
Dragon boating is different from other water sports, the women explained.
“Probably because it is an ancient sport and there is a lot of community and tradition,” Pearsall said.
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Teams over the weekend came from Bucks County, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh and other places.
The event also featured health tents, food trucks, eateries, vendors and live music.
