On Saturday the races kick off at 10 a.m. and will run continuously throughout the day. Each team will have at least two races. Teams with the fastest times advance to the dragon boat finals which will take place later in the day.

At 5 p.m. the races will wrap up in time for the awards ceremony which will honor the top 3 teams as well as feature a number of special awards for things such as Best Campsite and Most Team Spirit.

A dance by Foolish Boys Band beginning at 7:30 p.m., in the park will wrap up the race weekend.

Throughout the day food vendors and beer gardens will be set up in the city park including the Taste of Heritage. Ingapirca, a bamboo flute playing band which features music from a number of cultures world wide, will be playing in the band shell on Saturday.

Children will have an event all-to-their-own from 1-3 p.m. as a variety of activities and games will be set up in the park.

For the entire race weekend, the Starbuck City Park will be the headquarters for the race action. To help make the event more festive, each team will be given a spot in the park to create a tent/home site.

Teams are encouraged to pick a theme and decorate their tents for a chance to be named as the most creative camp site during the awards ceremony Saturday evening.

What is Chinese Dragon Boat Racing

In a large boat resembling a cross between a canoe and Viking ship, approximately 20 people per boat paddle in unison the length of 500 meters in a race. Anyone young or old can make up a team and participate in the races, but the team must include at least eight women.

The day of the race, teams will race against each other in heats before one team is eventually crowned the champion. The races in Starbuck will be near the tennis courts in the Starbuck City Park.

Boats are provided by The Great White North Chinese Boats based out of Toronto, Canada.

Starbuck will be just one of two towns in Minnesota to have Great White North Chinese Boats host a race this year according to the company’s Web site. The Bemidji version of the dragon boat festival was held last weekend. Over the course of the year, Great White North puts on dragon boat races throughout the United States and Canada in cities often times much larger than Starbuck.

For more information about the race visit www.starbuckdragonboat.com.