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Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival

Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival celebrates a decade of tradition

by Heidi Sutton - September 9, 2024

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Dragons will roar and lions will dance once again as the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosts their annual Dragon Boat Race Festival on Saturday, Sept. 14 from 8:30 to 5 p.m. The free event will take place at Mayor Jeanne Garant Harborfront Park and the Port Jefferson Village Center, 101A E. Broadway, Port Jefferson and the village’s inner harbor.

The festival is the brainchild of Barbara Ransome, Director of Operations at the chamber, who attended a dragon boat race festival in Cape May, New Jersey, several years ago.

Opening ceremonies at 8:30 a.m. will include a Asian color guard, the blessing of the ‘fleet’ with the traditional “Eye Dotting” ceremony to awaken the dragon led by Buddhist monks. Attendees will include VIPs and elected officials.

With dragon boats and equipment provided by Great White North, the main attraction will feature three racing heats to include 20 teams competing in a 250 meter, 3 lane racing course. Each team is made up of 20 paddlers, one steersman and one drummer. The first race begins at 9 a.m. Spectators can easily view the race course from the park’s edge.

Medals will be awarded in three divisions at an awards ceremony at the end of the day.

Sponsored by Taiko Tides, there will also be team contests for the best team T-shirt, best drumming performance and best costumed drummer.

All race teams will have their own “encampment” along Harborfront Park as they are queuing up for their races.

In addition to the races, there will be a day-long festival featuring numerous performances including the famous Lion Dance, Taiko and Korean Drum performances, Asian singing and dancing. Over 20 cultural and educational vendors and retailers will be on hand along with assorted food vendors including Naked Burger, The Poutinerie, Tea Brew (bubble tea and snacks), and Fern & Aurora (desserts with a Filipino flare).

This year is very exciting as it is the Year of the Dragon and the festivals’ 10th year. To help celebrate this special occasion there will be some new activities that will include Land Dragon Races, a dancing dragon and a 9-foot one dimensional steel fabricated fire breathing dragon! Visit the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce table to take part in a dragon-themed basket raffle and join a Paint a Dragon class with Muse Paintbar (fee) on the first floor of the Port Jefferson Village Center from 2 to 3 p.m.

There will be also be crafts and activities for children and tug-a-war competitions.

Event sponsors include the Suffolk County Police Asian Jade Society; Sea Tow; Flushing Bank; Long Island Waste Services; ServPro of Port Jefferson; The Waterview; Danfords Hotel, Marina and Spa; The Gitto Group; The Northwind Group; The East End Shirt Company; M& T Bank; Nestle Health Science; TBR News Media; Island Federal Credit Union; New York Cancer & Blood Specialists and Kiddsmiles.

The event will be held rain or shine with free admission. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and come enjoy the festivities! 631-473-1414, portjeffdragonracefest.com

Port Jeff’s annual Dragon Boat Race Festival prevails without main event

by TBR Staff - September 23, 2023

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By Aidan Johnson

Despite not having any dragon boat racing, the 9th annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival was filled with excitement and fun from start to finish Saturday, Sept. 16.

It was deemed early in the day unsafe to hold the boat racing due to rough water conditions in the wake of Hurricane Lee. The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, the organization that hosts this annual tradition, opted for a tug-of-war competition between the dragon boat teams.

“We wanted to kind of create a competitive activity that the teams would embrace,” Barbara Ransome, the chamber’s director of operations, explained. After one of her team partners suggested the tug-of-war, Peter Murphy of Sea Tow Port Jefferson provided the festival with a 40-foot cord to use.

“As you can see, it was great fun and lots of competition,” Ransome added.

Denise Yazak, who was part of Brookhaven National Lab’s Crave the Wave team, took part in the competition. While she was disappointed that she could not serve her role as drummer — who helps keep the paddlers in rhythm and synchronicity, matching the drumbeat with the strokes of the front paddlers — she said she still had a great experience.

“It’s such a cool community-building event, and it’s great to connect with new people, see old friends,” Yazak said. “So even with the weather, it was still an amazing time.”

Vendors set up throughout the day in Port Jeff’s Harborfront Park. The festival also included performances such as karate demonstrations and a showcase from Taiko Tides, a traditional Japanese drumming group from Stony Brook University.

“It’s always exciting to come,” said Louis Truong, a member of Taiko Tides. “They’re always welcoming to us.”

Port Jefferson Deputy Mayor Rebecca Kassay said she was inspired by the number of individuals who turned out and the many different walks of life gathered for the same purpose.

“This festival, in particular, is a beautiful opportunity to build community bridges and celebrate the vibrancy of diversity,” Kassay said in a statement.

“The resilience and adaptability of festival-goers was inspiring as well, as they seamlessly shifted their competitive spirits from dragon boat races to tug-of-war competitions,” she added.

Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival celebrates 9th year on Sept. 16

by Julianne Mosher - September 12, 2023

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By Julianne Mosher

These dragons won’t need any slaying and will not be spitting fire. In fact, this might actually bring some good luck.

The 9th annual Dragon Boat Race Festival is heading back to Port Jefferson on Saturday, Sept. 16 and it will have something for everyone.

Sponsored by The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, this event is a way to foster community togetherness. It also serves to promote Asian and Asian American culture and customs while connecting with students at Stony Brook University.

Kicking off with a race in the Long Island Sound, it coincides with a full festival filled with fun, food and friends.

Barbara Ransome, the chamber’s director of operations, said that every year this particular festival brings in hundreds of people from across Long Island and even New York City.

“There’s nothing else like this around,” she said, “And we’re the only festival doing this in Suffolk County.”

Just a few miles away from Stony Brook University, which has a large Asian and Pan-Asian community, Ransome said the festival not only brings new people to the village every year, but also parts of these cultures that local residents might have not seen before.

“Not only is this festival entertaining,” Ransome said, “But it’s also educational and that’s a wonderful thing.”

This year, 21 teams are signed up — including two from the university and a group from Flushing, Queens. Each boat has about 22 people in it as they race for the win.

But it isn’t just a race for visitors to watch and cheer on. There are dance troupes, Japanese percussionists, singers and martial artists, plus retailers, cultural vendors and food trucks.

And you can’t forget the Bearded Dragon who will dance for the crowd — but don’t worry… it isn’t scary.

For centuries, the bearded dragon has had a significant impact on different cultures around the world. Specifically in Eastern cultures, including Chinese mythology, the dragon symbolizes power, strength and good luck. Similarly, in Japan, bearded dragons are associated with longevity and wisdom, as they are said to possess secret knowledge.

Other fun activities for kids will include face painting, origami, crafts and reptile visitors from the Center for Environmental and Educational Discovery.

“This is a way to embrace diversity within our own backyard,” Ransome said. “It offers different things that you might have never seen before.”

The Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival will kick off its opening ceremonies on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 8:30 a.m. with a performance by the Asian Veterans Color Guard, singing of the national anthem by Samantha Reichers, a Blessing of the Dragon and the traditional “Eye Dotting” ceremony to awaken the dragon at Port Jefferson Harbor and Harborfront Park, located at 101A East Broadway. The race will begin at 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and will run alongside the entertainment schedule (see left hand page).

The event will be held rain or shine. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and come enjoy the festivities! For more information, call 631-473-1414 or visit www.portjeffdragonracefest.com

Schedule of Events:

7:45 a.m.

Team Captains Meeting at Harborfront Park

8:30 a.m.

Opening Ceremonies with Master of Ceremonies Suzanne Velazquez, Asian Veterans Color Guard, singing of the National Anthem by Samantha Reichers, and Blessing of the Dragon and ‘Eye Dotting’ ceremony with Theravada Monks from the Vajiradhammapadip Buddhist Temple in Centereach

8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Food Vendors, Cultural Crafts, Children Activities, Retail/Educational/Nonprofit Vendor Tables

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Continual Dragon Boat Races in Port Jefferson’s Inner Harbor

9:45 a.m.

Rebel Thaiboxing demonstration

10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m

The Sound of Long Island Chorus, Americana program and traditional Chinese songs

10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.

Yixin Dance Center

11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Long Island Chinese Dance Group performance

12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Lunch Break (no racing)

12;30 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Taiko Tides Drumming and Oroshi Drumming contest

1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Parade of the Team T-shirts Contest, Best Drummer Costume Contest

1:30 p.m.

Races resume

1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Authentic Shaolin Kung Fu Lion Dance , Kung Fu & Tai Chi demonstrations

2:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

Port Jefferson High School Music Group, Harbor Country Day School

2:45 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Rebel Thaiboxing Demonstration

3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Stony Brook Youth Chorus

3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Yana Dance Group – Chinese Traditional Dance

4 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Galante Martial Arts demonstrating Tai Chi, Arnis (Filipino Martial Arts) and Jiu Jitsu

4:15 to 4:45 p.m.

Long Island Modeling

4:30 p.m.

Last Dragon Boat Race

5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Closing Ceremonies and Awards

Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival celebrates 8th year on Sept. 17

by Heidi Sutton - September 13, 2022

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green & red Lions — Come dance with the lions at the 8th annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival. Photo from PJCC

Dragons will roar and lions will dance once again as the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosts the annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival on Saturday, Sept. 17. The free event will take place at Mayor Jeanne Garant Harborfront Park, 101A E. Broadway, Port Jefferson and the village’s inner harbor.

A scene from last year’s festival. Photo from PJCC

The festival is the brainchild of Barbara Ransome, Director of Operations at the chamber, who attended a dragon boat race festival in Cape May, New Jersey, a few years ago.

Opening ceremonies will begin at the Jill Nees Russell Performance Stage at the east end of the park at 8:30 a.m. and will include a performance by the Asian Veterans Color Guard, singing of the national anthem by Sophia Bloom, a Blessing of the Dragon and the traditional “Eye Dotting” ceremony to awaken the dragon.

“This is our 8th annual Dragon Boat Race Festival and we have 24 racing teams, last year 17 just out of COVID, so I think we are back to normal!,” said Ransome, ‘Mother of Dragons.’

With dragon boats provided by Great White North, the first race scheduled for 9 a.m., boat teams will compete on a 250-meter, three-lane racing course. Each team is made up of 20 “paddlers,” one steersman and one drummer. Heats will run all day, culminating in an awards ceremony at 5 p.m. where medals will be awarded in three divisions. Spectators can easily view the race course from the park’s edge.

Team contests for the best team T-shirt, best drummer and best costumed drummer will be judged in the middle of the day.

In addition to the races, there will be a day-long festival featuring numerous performances including the famous Lion Dance, Taiko and Korean Drum performances, martial arts demonstrations and Asian singing. Cultural and educational vendors and retailers will be on hand as well including representatives from Power Home Remodeling, Pure Mammography — Lake Grove, Northshore Properties Realty, Renewal by Anderson Windows, Mather Hospital, Stony Brook Chinese School, Rebel Thaiboxing and T-Mobile for Business.

Always a highlight, food this year will include pot stickers, veggie lo-mein, burgers, tacos, bacon quesadillas, and empanadas and there will be an abundance of children’s activities including origami, trick yo-yo demonstrations, face painting, and Chinese calligraphy and crafts, courtesy of the Port Jefferson Free Library. In addition, an educator from the Center for Environmental Educational and Discovery will bring Ozzy the bearded dragon and other ambassador animals.

“The harborfront park lends itself to this event, with our team encampments, the performance stage for all the Asian entertainment and plenty of room for our food trucks, sponsors and vendors! This will be a great team building day and lots of fun. The Chamber is very proud to be hosting this unique event,” said Ransome.

The event will be held rain or shine. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and come enjoy the festivities! For more information, call 631-473-1414 or visit www.portjeffdragonracefest.com.

Schedule of Events: Saturday Sept. 17

7:45 a.m.

Team Captains Meeting on the Great Lawn at Harborfront Park

8:30 a.m.

Opening Ceremonies with Master of Ceremony Suzanne Velazquez, Asian Veterans Color Guard, Singing of the National Anthem by Sophia Bloom, and Blessing of the Dragon, ‘Eye Dotting’ ceremony

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Food Vendors, Cultural Crafts, Children Activities, Retail/Educational/Nonprofit Vendor Tables

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Continual Dragon Boat Races in Port Jefferson’s Inner Harbor

10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

The Sound of Long Island Chorus:

Americana Program and Traditional Chinese Songs

10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

Long Island Chinese Dance Group

11:15 a.m. to noon

Chinese Classical Long Fan Dance, Chinese Folk singing, umbrella dance, and instrumental performance of “Big Fish” by Port Jefferson High School Music Group

12 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.

Lunch Break (no racing)

12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Taiko Tides Drumming and Oroshi Drumming contest

12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Parade of the Team T-shirts Contest

Best Drummer Costume Contest

1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Shaolin Kung Fu Lion Dance

Kung Fu & Tai Chi Demonstrations

2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Galante Martial Arts demonstrating Tai Chi, Armis (Filipino Martial Arts) and Jiu Jitsu

2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Stony Brook Youth Chorus

3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Yana Dance Group – Chinese Traditional Dance

3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Yixin Dance Center – Chinese Classical Dance

4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Rebel Thaiboxing Demonstrations

4:30 p.m.

Last Dragon Boat Race

5 p.m.

Closing Ceremonies and Awards

Dragon Boat Race Festival returns to Port Jefferson Sept. 18

by Heidi Sutton - September 13, 2021

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Dragons will roar on the North Shore once again as the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosts the 7th annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival on Saturday, Sept. 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The free event will take place at Mayor Jeanne Garant Harborfront Park, 101A E. Broadway, Port Jefferson and the village’s inner harbor.

The festival is the brainchild of Barbara Ransome, director of operations at the chamber, who attended a dragon boat race festival in Cape May, New Jersey, a few years ago.

Opening ceremonies will begin at the Jill Nees Russell Performance Stage at the east end of the park at 8:30 a.m. and will include a performance by the Asian Veterans Color Guard, singing of the national anthem by Alanna Wu, a Blessing of the Dragon and the traditional “Eye Dotting” ceremony to awaken the dragon.

This year’s event will consist of 17 racing teams with dragon boats provided by High Five Dragon Boat Co. With the first race scheduled for 9 a.m., boat teams will compete on a 250-meter, three-lane racing course. Each team is made up of 20 “paddlers,” one steersman and one drummer. Heats will run all day, culminating in an awards ceremony at 3:30 p.m. where medals will be awarded in three divisions. Spectators can easily view the race course from the park’s edge.

Team contests for the best team T-shirt, best costumed drummer and best drummer will be judged in the middle of the day.

In addition to the races, there will be a day-long festival featuring numerous performances including the famous Lion Dance, Taiko and Korean Drum performances, martial arts demonstrations and Asian singing. There will be cultural and educational vendors and retailers as well including representatives from Power Home Remodeling, Pure Mammography – Lake Grove, Panacea Massage and Wellness Studio, Cancer Services Program of Suffolk (Northwell-PBMC), Ameriprise, St. Charles Hospital and Island Sports Physical Therapy.

Always a highlight, food this year will include pot stickers, veggie lo mein, burgers, sliders, empanadas and shaved ice and there will be an abundance of children’s activities including origami, trick yo-yo demonstrations, face painting, and Chinese calligraphy and crafts, courtesy of The Stony Brook Chinese School, Port Jefferson Free Library, Center for Chinese Learning at Stony Brook and LI Youth Development, Inc.

“The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce is so pleased that we are able to sponsor our 7th annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival. A sincere thank you to our sponsors, VIPs, community partners, vendors, artists, performers, crafters, volunteers, committee members, race teams and everyone who has helped to make this festival possible,” said Ransome.

The event will be held rain or shine. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and come enjoy the festivities!

Schedule of Events

7:45 a.m.

Team Captains Meeting on the Great Lawn at Harborfront Park

8:30 a.m.

Opening Ceremonies with Master of Ceremony Yang Chen

Asian Veterans Color Guard

Singing of the National Anthem by Alanna Wu

Blessing of the Dragon

‘Eye Dotting’ ceremony

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Food Vendors, Cultural Crafts, Children Activities, Retail/Educational/Nonprofit Vendor Tables

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Continual Dragon Boat Races in Port Jefferson’s Inner Harbor

9 a.m. First Races Begin

10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

Sound of Long Island Chorus:

Americana Program and Traditional Chinese Songs

10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

Long Island Chinese Dance Group

11:15 a.m. to noon

Stony Brook Youth Chorus

12 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.

Lunch Break (no racing)

12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Taiko Tides Drumming

Drumming contest

12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Parade of the Team

T-shirts Contest

Best Drummer Costume Contest

1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Shaolin Kung Fu Lion Dance

Kung Fu & Tai Chi Demonstrations

2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

North Shore Karate Demo

3 p.m.

Last Dragon Boat Race

3:30 p.m.

Closing Ceremonies and Awards

The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce thanks this year’s generous sponsors including NY Community Bank-Roslyn Savings Bank Division, BMW, Murphy’s Marine Service-PJ Sea Tow, Times Beacon Record News Media, Danfords Hotel and Marina, LI Waste Services, Servpro of PJ, The Gitto Group, Wellbridge Treatment Center, Island Federal and East End Shirt Company and their community partners who help make this festival successful including the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, Port Jefferson Code & Highway, Harbor Ballet Theatre, Port Jefferson Ambulance and Suffolk County School Crossing Guards.

This year’s Bronze sponsors:

For more information, call 631-473-1414 or visit www.portjeffdragonracefest.com.

Dragon Boat Race Festival roars into Port Jefferson

by Heidi Sutton - September 10, 2019

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Dragons will roar on the North Shore once again as The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosts the 6th annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival on Saturday, Sept. 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The free event will take place at Mayor Jeanne Garant Harborfront Park, 101A E. Broadway, Port Jefferson and the village’s inner harbor.

The festival is the brainchild of Barbara Ransome, director of operations at the chamber, who attended a dragon boat race festival in Cape May, New Jersey, a few years ago.

Opening ceremonies will begin at 8:30 a.m. and include a performance by the Asian Veterans Color Guard, singing of the national anthem by Peggy Yin, a Blessing of the Dragon and the traditional “Eye Dotting” ceremony to awaken the dragon.

This year’s event will consist of 27 teams with dragon boats provided by High Five Dragon Boat Co. With the first race scheduled for 9 a.m., boat teams will compete on a 250-meter, three-lane racing course. Each team is made up of 20 “paddlers,” one steersman and one drummer. Heats will run all day, culminating in an awards ceremony at 5 p.m. All race teams will have their own “encampment” along Harborfront Park as they are queuing up for their races. Team contests for the best team T-shirt and best costumed drummer will be judged in the middle of the day.

Spectators can easily view the race course from the park’s edge and pier.

In addition to the races, there will be a day-long festival featuring numerous performances including the famous Lion Dance, Taiko and Korean Drum performances, martial arts demonstrations and Asian singing and instrumentals. There will be many cultural and educational vendors and retailers as well. New this year the best “drumming performance” sponsored by Taiko Tides and two new dragon statues.

Six food trucks will be on hand offering American, Italian, Chinese dishes as well as empanadas, smoothies and barbecue options.

Children’s activities will be in abundance with traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy, origami, kite making, trick yo-yo demonstrations and face painting. Adults can enjoy free chair massages, as well as free health screenings.

Free shuttle buses provided by the Port Jeff Jitney will make frequent stops on Oakland Avenue next to the Port Jefferson train station, the CVS parking lot on Barnum Avenue and the northeast corner of Belle Terre Road and Myrtle Avenue to bring eventgoers to the Port Jefferson Village Center from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Special thanks to this year’s sponsors, which include Murphy’s Marine Service-PJ Sea Tow, Incorporated Port Jefferson Village, Port Jefferson Yacht Club, Harbor Ballet Theatre, and the Port Jefferson Ambulance Suffolk County School Crossing Guards, the Confucius Institute of Stony Brook, NY Community Bank-Roslyn Savings Division, News 12, Jet Sanitation, Island Federal Union, TBR News Media, Danfords-Hotel Marina & Spa & The Waterview-Crest Hospitality, The Gitto Group, Peoples United Bank, PSEG and Servpro of Port Jefferson.

Bring a blanket or lawn chair and come enjoy the festivities. The event will be held rain or shine. For more information, call 631-473-1414 or visit www.portjeffdragonracefest.com.

Schedule of events

7:45 a.m. Team captains meeting on the Great Lawn at Harborfront Park

8:30 a.m. Opening ceremonies: Asian Veterans Color Guard; Singing of the National Anthem- Peggy Yin ‘acapella’; Introductions of VIP’s-Blessing of the Dragon and ‘Eye Dotting’ Ceremony

8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Food vendors, cultural crafts, children activities, retail/educational/nonprofit vendor tables

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Continual Dragon Boat races in Port Jefferson’s Inner Harbor

9 a.m. First races begin

10 to 11:30 a.m. LI Waist Drum, Riprise Music, Tai Chi-Demonstrations-Stony Brook Chinese School & Long Island School of Chinese, Yana Dance Group, Sound of Long Island Chorus

12 to 1 p.m. Lunch break (no racing)

12:30 to 1 p.m. Parade of the Team T-shirts Contest & ‘Best Drummer’ Costumer Contest

1 to 2 p.m. Authentic Shaolin Kung Fu-Lion Dance, Kung Fu & Tai Chi Demonstrations

2 to 3:30 p.m. LI Chinese Dance Group, Lingyan Vocal Art Studio; Alice & Emily Dance Duo; North Shore Youth Music Ensemble

3:30 to 4 p.m. LI School of Chinese Mother’s Dance Team, Stony Brook Chinese School; Peggy Yin & Claire Yang-Singing ‘My Homeland’, ‘Big Fish’ Ivan Ge-Keyboard; Zekey Huang-Violin

4 to 4:30 p.m. DDKY-2 Traditional Korean Percussion Pieces-‘Youngnam’ & ‘Chil-chae’; Junko Fisher-Japanese Dance-‘Matsushima’

4:30 to 5 p.m. United Martial Arts Center-UMAC Marital Arts Demonstration, Yixin’s Dance Center performing Girl’s Love, Picking Osmuda Flower, The Blue and White Porcelain & Auspicious Peacock

4:45 p.m. Last Dragon Boat race of the day

5 to 5:30 p.m. Closing ceremonies and awards

Photos courtesy of Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce

Village of Port Jefferson ready to host 5th annual Dragon Boat Race Festival

by Heidi Sutton - September 13, 2018

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Close up team racing — One of the teams races to the finish line in Port Jefferson Harbor at last year’s festival.

Dragons will roar on the North Shore once again as the The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosts the 5th annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival on Saturday, Sept. 15 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The free event will take place at Mayor Jeanne Garant Harborfront Park, 101A E. Broadway, Port Jefferson and the village’s inner harbor.

The festival is the brainchild of Barbara Ransome, director of operations at the chamber, who attended a dragon boat race festival in Cape May, New Jersey, a few years ago.

Opening ceremonies will begin at 8:30 a.m. and include a performance by the Asian Veterans Color Guard, singing of the National Anthem by Alanna Wu, a Blessing of the Dragon by Vajiradhammapadip Buddhist Temple Monks and an “Eye Dotting” ceremony to awaken the dragon.

Above, a lion dance is performed on the Main Lawn of the Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson as the crowd watches

This year’s event will consist of 34 teams with dragon boats provided by High Five Dragon Boat Co. With the first race scheduled for 9 a.m., boat teams will compete on a 250-meter race course, three-lane racing course. Each team is made up of 20 “paddlers,” one steersman and one drummer. Heats will run all day, culminating in an awards ceremony at 5 p.m. All race teams will have their own “encampment” along Harborfront Park as they are queuing up for their races. Team contests for the best team T-shirt and best costumed drummer will be judged in the middle of the day.

Spectators can easily view the race course from the park’s edge and pier.

In addition to the races, there will be a day-long festival featuring numerous performances including the famous Lion Dance, Taiko and Korean Drum performances, martial arts demonstrations and Asian singing and instrumentals. New this year is a special Ribbon Dragon Dance and musicians playing the traditional Japanese stringed instruments, the Shamisen and Koto.

Various Asian delicacies will be offered from food vendors including veggie lo mein, sushi, Japanese drinks and snacks, BBQ, smoothies, bubble tea and acai bowls.

Children’s activities will be in abundance with traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy, painting “dragon” eggs, visiting with a real live dragon, origami, trick yo-yo demonstrations and face painting. Come meet a Cosplay Iron Fist Character for photo opportunities. Adults can enjoy free chair massages, a bonsai display as well as free health screenings.

Special thanks to this year’s sponsors, which include HSBC; The Confucius Institute at Stony Brook University; Murphy’s Marine Service-PJ Sea Tow; New York Community Bank, Roslyn Savings Division; News12; Jet Sanitation; Times Beacon Record News Media; Quality King Construction; Danfords Hotel, Marina and Spa & The Waterview; Island Federal Credit Union; ServPro of Port Jefferson; The Gitto Group; and State Farm Agency — Patty Herbstman.

Bring a blanket or lawn chair and come enjoy the festivities. The event will be held rain or shine. For more information, call 631-473-1414 or visit www.portjeffdragonracefest.com.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

7:45 a.m. Team captains meeting on the Great Lawn at Harborfront Park

8:30 a.m. Opening ceremonies

8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Food vendors, crafts, children activities, photo booth pictures, retail/educational/nonprofit vendor tables

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Continual Dragon Boat races in Port Jefferson’s Inner Harbor

9 a.m. First races begin

9 a.m. Students from Sts. Philip and James School sing the famous Chinese song Ba Ba Hao; Alice and Emily Snyder perform the “Liang Liang” dance; and a performance by the Long Island Chinese Dance Group

9:30 to 10:15 a.m. Demonstration by Taiko Tides (Japanese percussion instruments/drumming); North Shore Youth Music Ensemble sing Chinese folk songs; Yiyuan Dance Group perform Chinese & Mongolian folk dances

10:15 to 11:15 a.m. Performance by Lingyan Vocal Art Studio and The Sound of Long Island Chorus

11:15 to 11:45 a.m. DDKY (Traditional Korean instruments); Yixin’s Dance Center perform Chinese classical and folk dances

11:45 a.m. Li Ping Zhang dance and Li na Liu dance performances

12 to 1 p.m. Lunch break (no racing)

12 to 12:30 p.m. Parade of the Team T-Shirt Contest and Best Drummer Costume Contest.

12:30 p.m. Long Island Waist Drum Club and Stony Brook Chinese School–Tai Chi

1 p.m. Dragon Boat races continue

1 to 2 p.m. Authentic Shaolin Kung Fu–lion dance, Kung Fu & Tai Chi demonstrations; Yana Dancing School performing the “Butterfly Lovers” dance

2 p.m. DDKY (Traditional Korean instruments)

2:30 p.m. Miyabi Koto Shamisen Ensemble perform Japanese Koto and Shamisen instruments

3 p.m. Performance of Chinese dances by Yixin’s Dance Center

3:30 p.m. Demonstration by Taiko Tides (Japanese percussion instruments/drumming)

4 p.m. Martial arts demonstration by United Martial Arts Center

4:45 p.m. Last Dragon Boat race of the day

5 to 5:30 p.m. Closing ceremonies and awards

Dragon Boat Race storms Port Jeff Harbor

by Alex Petroski - September 19, 2016

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The third annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival took place Sept. 17 in Harborfront Park and Port Jefferson Harbor. FDNY United won the competition, though more than 300 total medals were awarded to various participants according to the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, who organized the event. Hundreds came out to enjoy the races and festivities, which included performances, food vendors, music and more.

Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival

Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival celebrates a decade of tradition

Port Jeff’s annual Dragon Boat Race Festival prevails without main event

By Aidan Johnson

Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival celebrates 9th year on Sept. 16

Schedule of Events:

Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival celebrates 8th year on Sept. 17

Schedule of Events: Saturday Sept. 17

Dragon Boat Race Festival returns to Port Jefferson Sept. 18

Schedule of Events

This year’s Bronze sponsors:

Dragon Boat Race Festival roars into Port Jefferson

Schedule of events

Village of Port Jefferson ready to host 5th annual Dragon Boat Race Festival

Dragon Boat Race storms Port Jeff Harbor

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Community invited to Open House at Smithtown’s 27-acre estate ‘Owl Hill’ May 24

Wanted for alleged Melville grand larceny