MAUMELLE, Ark. — The annual River Cities Dragon Boat Festival will celebrate its 10-year anniversary in Maumelle at Lake Willastein Park on June 9–10.
During the popular event, teams propel their 46-foot-long, Hong Kong-style Dragon Boats to victory.
Teams are still being recruited for the event, with 43 confirmed so far out of a total of 50 spots.
Interested in forming a team? Here's what you'll need:
- 20 paddlers (friends, family, colleagues, etc.)
- 1 drummer who is light and loud
- 3-4 alternate paddlers are a good idea but not required
Each team will designate a captain to coordinate the team. This person can be either a paddler or the drummer.
The family-friendly event will also feature fun costumes, fireworks, food trucks, music, entertainment, and children’s activities.
This year's festival will be hosted by the Children's Protection Center (CPC) in Pulaski County, with all proceeds going towards their mission to prevent child abuse.
"We raised more than $150,000 in 2022, and hope to raise even more in 2023," says CPC Executive Director Jennifer Long. "This event will provide direct support to our expansion efforts to reach more abused children in Pulaski County. The continued support from the community has helped us to complete our home center expansion project and begin planning for our new north Pulaski County center (a $1.3 million project)! All proceeds from this event will go directly to fund the north Pulaski County center."
The event will help benefit CPC’s work to provide free care to children and their families in order to overcome the trauma of abuse and hold offenders accountable.
“It takes a team to paddle one of these amazing Dragon Boats, just like it takes a team of people to prevent child abuse in our community," Long added.
To learn more about the River Cities Dragon Boat Festival, please visit their website here.