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Dragon Boats East and West
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[May 7, 2001] | |
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New Jersey AT&T Dragon Boat Team Starts Season; Seeks New Recruits By Ellen Law, Team Captain
The 2001 season begins for the New Jersey-based AT&T Dragon Boat team. Their practices start in Lake Parsippany in a few weeks. The team plans to race at competitions in New Jersey, Toronto, Montreal and New York City. Team membership requires only a strong desire to "experience" a cool Asian tradition. The New Jersey AT&T team races a 20-person, 40-foot long, fiberglass, canoe-like boat. Originally formed by the 4A Piscataway Chapter in 1994 the program evolved into a powerful recreational crew. Competing in San Francisco, New York City and Montreal, the team has been beaten by the likes of the US Men's and Women's National teams, the Canadian Men's National Team, the Philippines Army team, the Taiwanese National champions -- yup, all the big guns! Yet, this crew represents the strongest New York/New Jersey area corporate recreational crew. Since its humble beginnings, several members have made the US National Team and competed for USA in the 1999 World Championships in England. This year several more members will compete in the 2001 World Championships in Philadelphia. The team is hosting a series of three New Jersey-based races: two in Lake Parsippany (6/2, 8/18) and one in Princeton (late September). |
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More information can be found at the team's web site: http://www.geocities.com/att-dragonboat. Membership is open to all interested individuals. Send inquiries to: elaw@att.com (908-221-2703). |
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AT&T Sponsors Inaugural Dragon Boat Festival in Denver By Mountain States Chapter Public Relations
Mountain States Chapter and other area Asian Pacific American community organizations are putting together the inaugural Dragon Boat Festival,
the first combined celebration of all Asian cultures represented in and around Denver.
Because the Chapter obtained $20,000 in sponsorship from AT&T Broadband and AT&T Local Network Services,
the race will be called the Dragon Boat Race AT&T Cup.
It will be held at Sloans Lake, Denver on August 19th.
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CONCEPTUALIZING THE FESTIVAL | |
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The event will start with a launching ceremony that would take place the morning of the races.
Before the races begin, the spectators will be treated to the performance of the traditional
Chinese Dragon Dance -- a 75 foot long facsimile of the mythical dragon manned by nine people.
The dragon is lead by several 10 foot long, colorful, pennant style banners and accompanied by a big drum,
cymbals and gongs as it parades around and through the crowd.
All of the race teams would follow behind.
After the parade and procession of the teams, the opening ceremonies will be presented. The remarks would include welcoming addresses by local government officials and from major sponsors. Then the races begin. In addition, “Asian Marketplace” will be set up to entertain spectators between races. The marketplace will include a broad representation of Asian cultural performances such as ribbon dance, fan dance, various musical performances, singers and others. Moreover, Asian artisans will set up booths, exhibiting their wares -- brush painting, knotting, calligraphy, paper cutting, seal carving and others. Lastly, the aroma and tastes of a potpourri of Asian cuisine will treat attendees. The day will be full of exciting sounds and activity -- an event that has never been seen in Denver before. Denver, as a city that welcomes festivals of all types, is an ideal location for such a festival. Dragon boat racing will appeal to the outdoor nature of its population and bring home a new type of excitement and competition. The theme, size and scope of these races would certainly make this festival a "one-of-a-kind" event, an activity that many will want to see. Finally, this presentation can be another tool to be used to continue to foster Denver/Asian relations enabled by support from major corporations such as AT&T through their business resource group, 4A at AT&T. | |
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Courtesy of the Denver Dragon Boat Festival Committee |
