SALISBURY — The 10th Annual Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival will be held on July 27, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., at The Shrine Club on High Rock Lake (6480 Long Ferry Road, Salisbury). Team entries, corporate sponsorships and vendor opportunities are open for the event by going to the event website https://rowanchamberdragonboat.org/

The actual Dragon Boat Races are the highlight of the festival, which features up to 30 teams paddling across a 300-meter course on water, each team is placed in three heat races determined by category and speed (corporate, community/non-profit or club team). To register for this year’s event, go to Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Team Registration.

“We are celebrating our 10^th year of the Rowan Chamber’s Dragon Boat Festival and it’s going to be bigger and better than ever before,” Chairman Daniel Matangira said. “It’s the best team-building exercise in the region and showcases this wonderful community in which we live and work.”

The Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival has traditionally been the largest annual spectator event held on High Rock Lake, the second largest lake in North Carolina. The festival includes vendors, food trucks and activities for the whole family in a park-like atmosphere. More than 5,000 spectators attended last year’s event.

The event is free to attend and guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets and make it a fun lakeside party. However, no pets, coolers or outside food will be allowed. Parking is $5 per car and available in adjacent lots to the Shrine Club. Trolley and shuttle vans will provide transportation between the parking areas and the Shrine Club property. Boats are welcome to view from the main channel or can dock behind the Shrine Club to enjoy the food and festivities.

Visitors traveling from out of town are encouraged to extend their festival fun by staying overnight in Rowan County. Register for the Dragon Boat Festival Stay & Play package by booking your overnight stay in a Rowan County hotel on www.VisitRowanCountyNC.com during the Dragon Boat Festival and receive a VISA e-Gift Card equal to 50 percent of your stay. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers. The VISA e-Gift Card will be emailed upon check in at your Rowan County hotel. Promotion ends on July 23. For more information about hotel special offers, go to www.VisitRowanCountyNC.com

The competition:

Pan Am Dragon Boat Company oversees the competition and provides each team with all the necessary equipment (boat, paddles, life vests). Teams learn how to paddle during an introductory practice session. Each team has 20 paddlers (a minimum of eight must be female), and a drummer. On race day, each team will compete in three heats on a 300-meter  straight course.

Dragon Boat racing is a 2,300-year-old tradition from Ancient China with 45-foot sleek boats donned with dragon heads, tails and scales that seat 20 paddlers each. Colorful drummers sit in the bow pounding the drum to the beat of the paddlers’ stroke, and a steersperson stands in the stern guiding the team down the water racecourse.

For more information, contact the Rowan Chamber at 704-633-4221 or info@rowanchamber.com or follow the hashtag #DragonBoatRowan.