Chester Dragon Boat Festival – Sunday 14th June 2009

The Chester Dragon Boat Festival is just one of the brilliant annual events in Chester down at the River Dee.

The Chester Dragon Boat Festival for 2009 is all set to take place on Sunday 14th June.

It is a fantastic and fun sight to see – a great Chester family day out.

The competition takes place between teams of a minimum of seventeen people racing their 30 foot Dragon Boat along the River Dee.

Entries to this year’s races are now closed but take a look at the Dragon Boat Festival entry details page if you are thinking of taking part next year.

Dragon Boat racing is certainly not unique to Chester UK. Races take place all over the world and the tradition originated in China around three thousand years ago. An important feature of the yearly Chinese calendar, celebrated as the Duanwu Festival’, it is awarded as a public holiday in mainland China and Taiwan.

Here in Chester, the teams entering the Dragon Boat Races raise valuable funds for their chosen charities and this year is no exception.

Last year’s Chester Dragon Boat Races saw nineteen teams entered with first prize going to Dee Gas who raised money for Hope House Children’s Hospice.

With around sixteen teams entered for this year’s competition charities that will benefit include the Anthony Nolan Trust, NSPCC, The Multiple Sclerosis Society, Claire House Hospice, Red Cross and the Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology.

The day will kick off at 9.30am at Sandy Lane with Chester’s Dragon Boat Races starting from 10am. Each team enters three timed races and the four teams with the best single times go forward into the final race which will take place at around 3.30pm.

This year’s celebrity guest is Miss Cheshire 2009 and she will award prizes to winners of the Chester Dragon Boat Festival for 2009.

Join in the fun and come down to the River Dee on Sunday 14th June to see one of Chester’s most spectacular events.