Cultural Festival
june 2026
First held in 1979, the Boston Dragon Boat Festival is the first and oldest dragon boat festival in North America.
It has grown from a small local event into one of the largest Asian-American cultural events in New England, drawing more than 60,000 participants and spectators in 2025.
Festival Day
Thank you to all sponsors, volunteers, and organizations who made the 2025 festival a huge success. We had record attendance with bustling energy!
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We hope that everyone had a great time and that you will continue to support our growing festival.
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Thank you again and hope to see you all in 2026!
The Festival hosts many features for families and attendees to experience in the beautiful summers of Boston.
There are cultural performances during the day, ranging from traditional Asian dances, martial art demonstrations, and live classical Chinese music. The Arts & Crafts section has origami, coloring, and zhong-zhi making.
Food vendors are also available to help your family and friend's cravings during the day as your explore the Festival.
Root for your favorite teams who are racing dragon boats all day on the Charles River!
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 Egg Roll Cafe |  Creating String CraftsThere are a lot of designs that can be made out of strings and how you knot them, this booth will show you how to make different kinds. |
 Food Truck SkewersFood truck vendors |  How to use chopsticksHere you are taught how to use chopsticks, and if you already know how, challenge your chopsticks skill level! |
 Making butterfliesHere is a booth that teaches making butterflies. |  Coloring StationOur coloring stations provide a nice change of pace for our younger festival goers when they want to get out of the sun on our hot summer days. |
 _DSC6294Face Painting has been a BDBF arts and crafts staple for many years! |  PaintingsLocal artists put on a display for festival goers. |
 Chinese ChessChinese Chess is played at our festival by all ages! |  ZongziZongzi is one of the traditional foods eaten the festival. The arts and crafts tent instructs people how to make these tasty snacks. Please follow the link for a bilingual instruction on how to make them! |
 Go PlayersGo is an ancient board game with strong East Asian roots. It is a strategy game that has still been going strong. Massachusetts Go Association, represented by David Kahn, is always looking to teach others about his group and their passion for Go. Please follow the link to see a video introducing the basics of Go. For further questions, please contact them via learn@massgo.org! |  DSC_0729 |
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HISTORY
origins
Traditionally held on the fifth day of the fifth moon on the lunar calendar, the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the life and death of the ancient patriot-poet Qu Yuan who lived from 340-278 B.C. Qu Yuan was a minister who advocated reforms in his home state of Chu and was banished because of the King's refusal to listen.
In exile, Qu Yuan wrote poetry expressing his concern for his country and people. In 278, when Qu Yuan heard that his home had been invaded, he drowned himself in the Mi Lo River. The people of Chu rushed to the river to rescue him. Too late to save Qu Yuan, they splashed furiously and threw zhong-zhi (steamed rice wrapped in reed leaf), into the river as a sacrifice to his spirit and to keep the fish from Qu Yuan's body.
PRESENT DAY
Since then, dragon boats have raced in the waterways of China and beyond. The Boston Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival is one of the many festivals that continue to celebrate the tradition and the sport of dragon boat in the United States. Occurring along the beautiful Charles River, the event gives the community a day to come together.