Sat 9/19 @ 8AM-4PM
Looking to experience life to the beat of a different drum?
That in a nutshell is what has led more and more people of late to add dragon boat paddling to their list of extracurricular activities. The traditional Chinese boat design, which has been around for 2,000 years, finds one drummer and a boat full of rowers seeking clarity in life through what is described as an intense and competitive interaction that accentuates camaraderie and teamwork.
It turns out there are plenty of life lessons to be learned in dragon boat paddling, which is why it’s become so popular among everyone from cancer survivors to business folks looking for a unique retreat.
With this in mind, the Cleveland Dragon Boat Association has scheduled its 9th annual Cleveland Dragon Boat Festival, which includes cultural themes and racing all day. The fun takes place Sat 9/19 from 8am-4pm at the Nautica Entertainment Complex and in the Cuyahoga River, which will be closed to all commercial river traffic.
CoolCleveland talked to Cleveland Dragon Boat Association co-founder and festival coordinator Michael Ciccarello about this row-row-row-your-boat affair.
First of all, tell us about Cleveland Dragon Boat Association.
We’re a nonprofit, basically, that provides paddling opportunities on the Cuyahoga River. So we have three boats that we purchased about nine years ago. And we’re based out of Rivergate Park, which is a part of the Metroparks. We do paddling throughout the summers. We start as soon as the season opens in springtime when the weather permits and then we’re there through October. We do team-building activities and team practices for the festival. We work with youth groups. We try to promote ourselves for anyone that would be interested in getting out on the river to either recreational paddling, team building or even fitness-related paddling.
As far as the Cleveland Dragon Boat Festival, aside from the races featuring teams from around the region, what other attractions are involved?
We try to do cultural themes. For example, we have the awakening of the dragon, which is our opening ceremony. It’s the painting of the eyes where we have a Buddhist monk come in and basically bless the teams and does a ritual to welcome everybody, bless everybody, paint the eyes of the dragons. And then we race. This year we have to share space at Nautica with the car show, of all things, so we’re a little bit limited with what we’re able to do but generally we have cultural themes as well as the racing itself.
Why has attendance and interest grown of late regarding dragon boat paddling, as well as the festival?
I think more people come down and participate or they realize how enjoyable it is. It’s a fun social aspect. It’s a business aspect. There’s the environmental aspect being out on the river checking out the scenes. A lot of things you don’t expect until you’re on the boat paddling. And after people experience that, a lot of them want to continue on with paddling and in fact want to get on teams. So as more people are exposed to the sport, more people are interested in forming or being on teams that will compete at the festival. That’s what it’s all about. I think this year we have more team-building activities than we have in the past. It’s having folks that come down, check it out and they’re thinking this would be a great thing for my work place. They put together a team-building effort for the business they work for and we take them out for an outing to work together and have fun together.
Finally, tell us about the drummer, who seems to have the easiest gig on the dragon boat.
Actually, the drummer has to follow the team. The drummer can’t pace the team. The drummer has to facilitate. Since the drummer is not padding, the drummer can’t say, “I want you to paddle as fast as I can beat the drum.” It’s the other way around. The drummer has to pay attention to the pacers — the first paddlers or first bench — and they dictate the tempo. And because the drummer is facing the team, they’re able to see how well the team is working as a unit and can communicate with the pacers to bring the tempo up or down a bit.