Dragon Boat Race Fest Comes Back To Long Island

PORT JEFFERSON, NY — The Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce’s annual Dragon Boat Race Fest is back on after a two-year absence.

The race, which is the seventh event of its kind, has been planned for Sept. 18 and will run from about 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Last year’s race was canceled due to the COVID-19. The chamber is moving ahead with 20 confirmed teams signed on this year, according to its director of operations, Barbara Ransome.

The chamber is offering sponsorship opportunities “for all that will help support your chamber and add goodwill to our community,” she stated in an email.

A committee made up of chamber members, county representatives, and tourism professionals “are bringing fun, competition, and recreation to Port Jefferson’s Village beautiful harbor," the event's website states. "This event will include local and regional teams coming together to race against each other in a series of heats. Novice teams are provided with instruction and all of the necessary equipment to race.

For more information about forming a team, go to https://portjeffdragonboatrace...
Spectators are encouraged to visit Port Jefferson Harbor and bring their lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy the race, food vendors, and music.

Dragon Boat racing was inspired by the legend of an ancient Chinese "patriot-poet" who drowned himself when he heard his homeland was invaded, and local fishermen tried in vain to save him, according to the festival's website. To prevent his body from being eaten, the fishermen threw rice dumplings into the river "as an offering to his heroic spirit," the website states.