Dragon Boat Festival ... #292

NZCT Wellington Dragon Boat Festival 08
The Wellington Dragon Boat Festival was held this weekend ... 15 - 16 March and was an action packed weekend on Wellington's waterfront.

Wellington teams will be the first teams to paddle in the newest boats in New Zealand. The NZDBA has acquired an internationally sanctioned mold to build the brand new boats out of. This could only have been achieved with the support of the New Zealand Community Trust and the Wellington City Council.
The Wellington Dragon Boat Festival is held on the Wellington Harbour waterfront, right in front of Frank Kitts Park. With a massive promenade, park seating, bridges and wharves there are a myriad of great vantage points to see the action as the Dragon Boaters race down a course that hugs the shoreline.
One of the biggest Festivals in the country. Festival owner and director Ian (Ferg) Ferguson loves the excitement of this event. Renowned world wide as a great festival venue, Wellington Harbour can sure throw a mean party for the competitiors when it wants to.
The course is set just metres off Frank Kitts promenade, making spectating accessible and exciting for everyone. Add to that food stalls, crafts, jewellery, face painting, chinese lion dancers, jugglers, and sometimes even Army tanks, this is an event that will keep you entertained all day long.
During the festival weekend over 80 adult and school teams raced to determine the champions. With social and championship grades many of the teams will walk away with medals, trophies and prizes for their efforts. Dragon Boat racing is a dynamic and interesting sport which has survived the rise and fall of many corporate team building activities. As well as being a good fitness program, the Festival puts a big emphasis on adding value to a good time.
Saturday is the adults day, with corporate and open races running all day. The grand finals are held in the afternoon, where the competition is fierce. Then on Sunday the school students get to show their stuff with the college races and lots of vocal supporters.