On August 20th, Row American Hamilton from River’s Edge Amphitheater in Hamilton and the Confucius Institute at Miami University co-sponsored a fantastic Dragon-boat Festival.

Hundreds of people of all ages gathered at River’s Edge to experience this unique Chinese festival. Ten teams participated in the dragon boat race, including Miami University’s team, Dragon Hawks. The audience sat on the river dam to enjoy the amazing race.

Close to the river, vendors sold a variety of delicious international dishes. The CIMU-sponsored stage was a source of continuous entertainment. CIMU performers contributed with musical performances, including traditional Chinese instrument-erhu, Chinese kung fu, and lion dance. People gathered around the stage to get a closer look at the performances. Some kids even got onto the stage to play with the lion costumes.

The audience applauded warmly after each performance, and many commented that they enjoyed the performances.

In addition to the performances mentioned above, CIMU also set up a booth next to the stage. Volunteers from CIMU introduced the history of the Chinese dragon-boat festival, and information about the festival was displayed on a set of boards. A large painting of the Great Wall of China was also erected near the booth. The monkey and panda costumes attracted many children, who also put on the costumes to have photos taken.

Though the festival had to end early due to the heavy rain, the audience had plenty of time to enjoy the first two rounds of dragon-boat racing and festival activities. Overall, the Dragon-Boat Festival was a great success and many people said that they hope to attend next year’s festival.