Beijing has the Olympics in August. The Twin Cities will have the ancient Chinese sport of dragon boat racing (amidst many other Asian Pacific entertainment and activities) on July 12-13 at Phalen Lake/Park.

Dragon boat racing, one of the hottest and fastest-growing water sport, is one of many reasons for you to be at Phalen Lake/Park the second weekend of July. Twenty-seven teams, each consisting of 20-24 members, will be paddling furiously to the cadence of their own drummer for a chance to be the 2008 champions. The 40-ft- long boats sport elaborately carved and painted dragon heads and tails. The sight of and sound from these gliding machines will make the trip worthwhile. Saturday is for practice and Sunday, race day, is when things get serious!

However, there is more to the Dragon Festival than just dragon boat racing! At 11:30 a.m., Saturday, visitors will be greeted and entertained by a dragon at the "Awakening the Dragon" ceremony. They can watch the dragon being woken up for the occasion; receive a traditional blessing by monks, followed by a Hawaiian dance performance and hula workshop. On Sunday noon, a taiko drumming performance and workshop kick off the performances while martial arts enthusiasts will be treated to an exhibition of one of the oldest Chinese martial arts form – Shaolin wu gong – at 12:15 p.m. at the martial arts stage.

Driving Directions
And, with all things Asian, food plays a dominant role. Three well-known local culinary professionals will be on hand Saturday afternoon demonstrating the intricacies of making curry sauces. Raghavan Iyer, author of the recently published "660 Curries: The Gateway to the World of Indian Cooking," will be joined by Supenn Harrison of Sawatdee (Thai) and Thom Pham of Azia (Vietnamese). Iyer will be happy to sign copies of his cookbooks, which will be available for purchase at the Festival.

Hankering for Asian food? This is the place to be! You will have a choice of Chinese, Hmong, Thai or Vietnamese. Can't wait until the State Fair? There's barbecue, mini donuts, corndogs and ice cream as well. Bring a healthy appetite to sample the variety.

Those interested in starting their Christmas shopping early will have merchandise at all price points to satisfy, ranging from art to silver jewelry to Tibetan crafts to Dragon Festival shirts, caps and spooner mugs, to name a few. In addition, there will be free canoe rides, children activities and on-going demonstrations of sand-painting; cement sculpture; fruit, soap and dry coconut carving; bonsai; origami and henna art. Representatives from many local organizations also will be on hand to provide information about their services.

The Dragon Festival is operated by an all volunteer board. Would you like to volunteer? Contact us at: volunteer@dragonfestival.org