I’ve been wanting to take my youngest kids to the dragon boat races in Chicago for sometime now and was excited it worked out for us this year. A decade ago I brought my oldest son to see this annual festival along the Chicago River near Ping Tom Park.
It turned out to be a nice day with a clear sky and mild temperatures. The kids enjoyed looking at the dragon boats up close.
Once the races started, we sat down just beyond the finish line so we could clearly see which team captured the flag first.
Besides the races, there were booths spread across Ping Tom Park and the road leading up to it, promoting various social services, banks, and energy bars. The Chinatown Chamber of Commerce had a great information booth where they sold t-shirts and gave out schedules, a Chinatown scavenger hunt list, and a brochure advertising the free trolley service for that day. If we hadn’t had other plans that afternoon (a super fun birthday party for the son of a friend I first went to China with!), I would have taken the kids on the trolley. That’s something to look forward to next year.
But we did have time for the craft table.
It was a fun morning and the kids and I had a great time.
Andrea Eliscu says
We are bringing our two Dueling Dragons teams of Orlando Police Officers and inner-city kids to the dragon boat races in Arlington, July 25th. This team is changing lives thru the power of the dragon. Come out and see us at the Walgreens International Dragon Boat event July 25th.
Autumn says
Nice! Those looked like multi-racial rowers, too. Can anyone field a team?
Susan Blumberg-Kason says
Thanks so much! The teams are mostly from different corporations, but I think some non-profits and schools have teams, too. All the money raised goes to a literary program. The rowers are of all ethnic backgrounds and really get into it!