Hartford NewsVolume XXXV Hartford’s Only City-Wide Community Newspaper Number 15

The August 14 – 21, 2014

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Passionate PaddlersDrawn To Dragon Boats

Dancers, Drummers, AndMartial Arts Demonstrations

Among Asian Festival’s Highlights

The 93 teams and 3,000 paddlerswho are racing at the 14th AnnualRiverfront Dragon Boat and AsianFestival on August 16 and 17 rangein age from teenagers to people intheir 70’s. They are students, secre-taries, surgeons, and CPA’s. Theylive in big cities and small towns.But they have one important thing

in common – their shared passionfor dragon boating, a sport thatbegan more than 2,000 years ago inChina. In addition to being fun,dragon boat races are seen as havingimpressive benefits. Participants express it differently.

Corporate teams talk about how thedragon boat experience fostersteambuilding among employees.Breast cancer survivors say thattogether they are stronger thanthey’d be as individuals.The earliest racers believed that

they were protecting members ofthe community from unfriendlyspirits of the seas – blessing thecommunity with happiness andprosperity.According to legend, a popular

Chinese poet and statesman namedQu Yuan was expelled from officeby unscrupulous ministers. In a dra-matic protest against political cor-ruption, Qu Yuan drowned himselfin the Mi Lo River. Local fishermenrushed out in boats to try to save him– and to prevent his body from

being eaten by fish. They beatdrums, thrashed the water with pad-dles, and threw rice dumplings intothe river to appease the water drag-on.In that rescue attempt, the sport of

dragon boating was born. Dragon boat racing was confined

to Chinese fishing villages until1976, when an effort began in HongKong to introduce dragon boat rac-ing to other countries. In 1982, theUnited States Rowing Associationwas asked to start a dragon boatteam. A group of rowers inPhiladelphia decided to give it a try.The following year, in 1983, thatfirst team from the United Stateswent to Hong Kong – and finishedsecond behind the Chinese team.In 1990, the International Dragon

Boat Federation was formed andheld its first World Championshipcompetition in 1995. In 2001, morethan 20 countries from around theworld competed in the WorldDragon Boat Championship racesin Philadelphia. And now we welcome 93 teams

and 3,000 paddlers to the 14th annu-al dragon boat races on theConnecticut River. With this largefield of competitors, the Hartford-East Hartford Riverfront is estab-lishing itself as one of the most pop-ular dragon boating venues in theUnited States.

While dragon boat paddlers com-pete on the river, MortensenRiverfront Plaza in downtownHartford will blossom with the col-orful sights and sounds of Asiancultures during Riverfront Recap -ture’s Dragon Boat and AsianFestival on Saturday and Sunday,August 16 and 17.“We have scheduled two full days

of authentic Asian performances,representing many Asian cultures,”says Josh Urrutia, Riverfront Recap -ture’s Events Manager. Festival entertainment runs from

10am to 3pm on Saturday andSunday. All performances will takeplace on the plaza. A completeschedule of performances can befound on page 3.Returning by popular demand this

year is Dance China NY, an award-winning group of dancers and musi-cians from New York City whoelectrify audiences with their per-formances. New to the festival thisyear are Spectrum in Motion’sCrane Dance, Sweta’s IndianMulticultural Dance School, and LiLiu’s Acrobatics.Several local organizations also

are performing, including UConnTaiko, a Japanese drumming groupfrom the University of Connecticut,

the Chinese Culture Center fromEast Hartford, which will includeChinese classical instruments intheir performances, and AsianPerforming Arts of Windsor, whichwill perform a traditional dragondance for the festival’s opening cer-emonies as well as Chinese classi-cal GuZheng.Martial arts demonstrations will

include Wu Shu, Tai Chi, and KungFu – performed by experts from theHartford region – at 11 am, noon,and 1 pm on Saturday on the plaza.Children are invited to participate

in an arts and crafts booth wherethey can make dragon masks ordecorate chopsticks to take home orget their faces painted, all free ofcharge. The Teach Art 2 Me boothsare open on Saturday and Sundayfrom 10am to 3pm on the plaza.“The richness of the vibrant cos-

tumes, many of which come fromAsia, combine with the music anddance to transport spectators to adifferent part of the world,” Urrutiasays. “For two days, the Asian festi-val transforms the Riverfront into acelebration of Asian cultures andintroduces our guests to sights andsounds that maybe they have neverseen or heard before. And it’s allfree.”

2 14th Annual Riverfront Dragon Boat & Asian Festival

Club - Mixed Division

1 .....Boston 1

2 .....Catch22

3 .....Dragonheart VT Dragonflyers

4 .....Dragonheart VT Quicksilver

5 .....Electric Dragons

6 .....Goldman Sachs Tritons

7 .....Ithaca Gorges Dragons

8 .....Living Root Blue

9 .....Living Root Red

10 ...New York Wall Street Dragons

11 ...Ocean State Dragon Boat Club

12 ...Seadogs Dragonboat

13 ...Team Dragons

14 ...Team ESPN

15 ...United Dragons

16 ...Wicked Tuna

17 ...Xtreme NY

Club - Women's Division1 .....Dragonheart VT Green Mountain Girls2 .....Dragonheart VT Senior Warriors3 .....Dragonheart VT Snapdragons4 .....Machestics Dragons 5 .....Paddle My Boat Off6 .....Philadelphia Flying Phoenix 17 .....Philadelphia Flying Phoenix 28 .....Wicked Koi9 .....Women In Canoe

Club - BCS Division1 .....Dragonheart VT Sisters2 .....New York City Empire Dragons3 .....Pathways TEAM SOS4 .....Philadelphia Flying Phoenix Against the.......Wind

Club - ACS Division1 .....Wellness Warriors Boston 2 .....The Awakened Dragons

Club Teams racing Sunday, August 17, 2014

Community Teams racing Saturday, August 16, 2014

THE TEAMS

1 .....25 Picaroons 2 .....Aetna Dragon Power3 .....Aetna Lucky Strokes4 .....Aetna Release the Kraken5 .....Aetna Renee'gade Rowers6 .....Aetna Sink or Swim7 .....Aetna Unified Elements8 .....Aetna Weida9 .....Aetna Won Fun Crew10 ...Aetna's Race Judicata11 ...Aurora Hear Me Roar12 ...Berkshire Bank13 ...Bikram Yoga Blazing Yogis14 ...Bradway Dragons15 ...Chinese Culture Center & CCSU-CI16 ...Chinese Language School17 ...CRT Dragon Wave18 ...Cyient19 ...Dragon Fire20 ...Dragon Rays21 ...Dragon Slayers22 ...East Hartford Dynasty23 ...Feeding Children Everywhere Hunger .......Heros24 ...Foley Fire25 ...Gilbane Care Bears26 ...Goodwin College Navigators - Staff27 ...Goodwin College Navigators - Student28 ...Greater Hartford Jaycees29 ...Hartford Health Department30 ...Hartford Hospital

31 ...Hartford Police Explorers Post 4532 ...Henkel One Rocky Hill Rockers33 ...Henkel Two Rocky Hill Rollers34 ...HSB Steamin' Dragons35 ...HYPEsters36 ...iTi Dragon Whisperers37 ...Lincoln Financial Group38 ...MassAttack Team 139 ...MassAttack Team 240 ...Mayor Segarra's Dragon Boat Team41 ...MDC Water Dragons42 ...Milone & MacBroom Warriors43 ...OneBeacon Pro Row, Row Your Boat44 ...Pratt & Whitney Flying Dragons45 ...Pratt & Whitney Pure Power46 ...Roaring Dragons47 ...Sikorsky Sea Dragons 48 ...SMCmonsters49 ...St. Brendans Voyage50 ...Team Belcan51 ...The Hartford Dragon Hart52 ...The Hartford HIMCO Wake Zone53 ...The Hartford Staggering Dragon54 ...The Hartford Stag-On55 ...The Hartford Stroke of Genius56 ...Trinity College57 ...Tsunami Tserpents58 ...Turnpike Motors AutoBody59 ...UTAS Blazing Paddles60 ...UTAS Bridge Dodgers61 ...Van Buren's Dynamic Dragons

Visit the Many Food andMerchandise Vendors and

Exhibitors at the Asian Festival

Jay R Thai Chinese Food (Thai-Chinese)Spring Roll, Vegetable Fried Rice, Vegetable ChowMein, Chicken Skewers, Beef Skewers, White Rice,Bubble Tea, Cashew Nut Chicken, Orange Chicken,

Pad Thai, Lemonade, Iced Tea

Thai Awesome (Japanese)Okonomi-yaki with topping, Chicken, Shrimp, BeefTeriyaki on rice or pasta, Smoothies, Bubble Tea,Lemonade, Limeade, Water, Japanese Soda,

Bangkok Gardens Restaurant (Thai)Pad Thai, Chicken and cashews, Fried Rice, BBQ Chicken

Siam Glastonbury (Thai)Chicken Satae, Grilled Pork Skewer, Thai Dumpling,Vegetable Dumpling, Siam Roll, Curry Puff, Pad Thai

Tofu, Crab Rangoon

Rita's Italian Ice

Hammerhead's SeafoodChicken or Beef Teriyaki, Shrimp or Chicken Tempura,

Shrimp Fried Rice, Spiral Potato Fries, Lemonade, Iced Tea

Get It ToastedToasted Sandwiches, Fruit Smoothies, Pickles, Chips, Drinks

G & J CompanyBeads, Jewelry, Scarves, Handbags

Request A ChefDeli sandwiches and wraps

Oohrah Hydration drinks

Carvel Ice Cream

Pho Vietnam RestaurantAuthentic Vietnamese dishes including traditional

soups, fried rice, vermicelli with grilled pork or chickenor beed, bun bo que, beef stew and vegetarian dishes

Bollywood GrillExotic cuisine of the East and the Himalayas

Aetna

Asian Pacific American Coalition - CT

Capitol Chiropractic Center

Chinese Baptist Church of Greater Hartford

Chinese Language School of Greater Hartford

Connecticut Chinese Culture Association

Dharma Drum Mountain BuddhistsAssociation, Hartford CT

Foley Carrier Services

Mass Mutual

New England Urgent Care

New York Life Insurance Company

Next Step Living

Nutmeg State Federal Credit Union

United Technologies

14th Annual Riverfront Dragon Boat & Asian Festival 3

4 14th Annual Riverfront Dragon Boat & Asian Festival