The Dragon Boat Regatta Captures the Spirit of Fort Bend

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By Zeenat Kassam Mitha –

One of the largest multicultural and team-building activities in Fort Bend County is the Annual Gulf Coast International Dragon Boat Regatta that was held on October 18th and 19th. Celebrating its 11th year, more than 5,000 participants and visitors came to paddle or cheer on their favorite team at Brooke Lake by the Fluor campus in Sugar Land. Teams with a crew of 25, including a drummer, paddled their boat, which led with a small dragon head and ended with a fiery tail, to the finish line. A total of 53 teams paddled this year. The Regatta honorary co-chairs were The Honorable Li Qiangmin, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Houston, and The Honorable Suk Bum Park, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Houston.

“We hosted, for the first time, the ‘Cancer Awareness Cup,’ which is made up of individuals who have dealt directly or indirectly with cancer,” said committee member Terri Wang. “Another team we are proud to have as part of our Dragon Boat racing is the ‘Houston Blind Fury’ from The Lighthouse of Houston. This team had paddlers who were completely blind or visually impaired.”

I was honored to co-emcee the event with Robert Arnold of KPRC. We were delighted to share the history of how the Dragon Boat Regatta became a major event in Fort Bend. The two-day October Regatta initially started in 2004 on Pasadena Lake at Clear Lake Park and continued until 2007. In October 2008, it was moved to Brooks Lake at the Fluor campus in wake of Hurricane Ike. In May 2009, the Houston Dragon Boat Festival, normally held on Buffalo Bayou at Allen’s Landing, was moved to Brooks Lake because of severe weather and water conditions for that one time.

The October 2009 Regatta was planned and held at Brooks Lake in conjunction with Sugar Land’s 50th Anniversary celebration. Every year since, the event has been welcomed in Sugar Land by the culturally diverse community. “Dragon boats are for everyone, and your height or size doesn’t matter,” said Executive Director and President Eve Marie Ruhlman. “It is one of the most fun things you will do in your life!”

The Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duan Wu Jie, is a popular Chinese festival that has been celebrated for more than 2,000 years. It was originally held to commemorate the patriot Qu Yuan, who was a minister of the state of Chu, one of the seven warring states before Qin (221 BC – 206 BC) in China’s first feudal dynasty. In order to revive his country, Qu Yuan offered constructive criticism to the king, who eventually disliked hearing such advice and banished him from the capital. Soon thereafter, Qu Yuan supported the decision to fight the powerful State of Qin, one of the seven states during the Warring States Period (476 BC – 221 BC). The State of Chu was attacked by the State of Qin and was quickly defeated. With his country facing annihilation, Qu Yuan lost hope and threw himself into the river holding a big rock.

Upon hearing the news of Qu Yuan’s death, the people who admired him grieved. They paddled on the river back and forth to look for his body. To prevent Qu Yuan’s body from being eaten by fish, people tossed eggs and food like zongzi (sticky rice) into the river to feed the fish. They hoped that this would prevent the fish from eating Qu Yuan’s body. The body was not found, and the people decided to commemorate him through dragon boat racing to keep his legend alive.

In Fort Bend, families and visitors enjoyed the race, and vendors had an opportunity to showcase their food and talents. Attendees sampled Asian cuisine, participated in colorful arts and crafts, cultural performances such as Chinese lion dancing, martial arts demonstrations, kids zone fun, belly dancing and many other performances focusing on Asian traditions.

To share your ideas for upcoming cultural stories and  events, contact Cultural Correspondent  Zeenat Kassam Mitha at  zeenat@fortbendfocus.com