08/30/2026
Reading this from Fox Valley Dragon Boat Club makes me emotional. ❤️
What happened yesterday was so much more than a race.
Just a few months ago, we were trying to figure out whether we could make this festival happen at all. In such a short time, teams were organized, performers came together, volunteers stepped forward, sponsors trusted us, and dragon boat clubs from across the region answered our calls for help.
Then yesterday, it rained. And rained. 😂 But somehow, the rain never took away the energy.
What I saw was exactly the community I hoped this festival could create.
I saw experienced paddlers helping first-time paddlers. Club teams coming not only to compete, but to work. Volunteers filling gaps wherever they were needed. Sponsors supporting us even when we came to them at the last minute. Cancer survivors being celebrated. And three youth teams getting on the water and racing.
The youth especially made me proud. Watching them paddle together, volunteer, perform, help behind the scenes, and take responsibility gave me so much hope for the next generation of leadership in our community.
A very special thank you to Fox Valley Dragon Boat Club, Racine Dragon Boat Club, and the American Dragon Boat Association. When we needed help, you didn’t just give us advice. You showed up. You brought boats, equipment, officials, expertise, people, and countless hours of work. You helped make this festival possible.
And thank you to every sponsor, organization, performer, vendor, volunteer, team, family member and community partner who believed in this event and jumped in to help.
This is what I learned from dragon boating:
You don’t have to come from the same place.
You don’t have to have the same experience.
You don’t even have to know each other before getting into the boat.
You just have to listen to the same beat, paddle together, and move forward toward the same goal.
One boat. One team. One heartbeat. 🐉❤️
Yesterday showed me what is possible when a community does exactly that.
Thank you for making the third Northeast Wisconsin Dragon Boat Festival OUR festival. ❤️🐉
The NEW Dragon Boat Festival delivered on every level.
What started as a Plan B became a celebration of racing, community, teamwork, youth, cancer survivors and the incredible spirit of dragon boating.
16 teams took the water.
We had exciting racing.
We had three youth boats.
We had cancer survivors competing.
We had first-time paddlers discovering a sport they may never have otherwise experienced.
And we had an incredible community of people who simply decided:
“We’re going to make this happen.”
❤️🐉 Racine Crew — we cannot thank you enough.
The fabulous Racine Crew brought their boats to Oshkosh — and there was something pretty special about seeing those boats return to the Fox River, where they had raced many years ago.
But Racine didn’t just bring boats.
Their team showed up in more ways than we could possibly mention.
They helped with race preparation, getting all of their equipment ready to go. They provided steerspeople. They transported the boats and got them on the water before many of us had even arrived at the festival. They helped set the course and jumped in wherever they were needed.
They didn’t just help us race.
They helped make the race possible.
This festival would not have happened without you.
We are incredibly grateful. ❤️
The American Dragon Boat Association also stepped up in a BIG way, providing Level 3 international officials to judge the races, along with a dedicated team to manage the starts and finishes. Their expertise helped us run safe, fair and professionally organized racing throughout the day.
And multiple paddlers from other teams generously volunteered their time to serve as steerspeople, helping get teams safely down the course.
Think about that for a moment.
People who came to race also gave their time to help other teams race.
And then there was our own Fox Valley Dragon Boat Club.
Our members showed up early, worked all day and stayed until the very last dock and tent was taken down — helping run races, supporting teams, moving equipment and doing whatever needed to be done.
And to our club members’ families — thank you.
You may not have been wearing a team jersey or sitting in a boat, but you were there. You helped carry things, move things, solve problems, fill gaps and simply stepped in whenever something needed to be done.
Dragon boating doesn’t just involve the paddler. It takes a whole community.
A very special thank you to Steve, a club member’s husband who volunteered his time — and the use of his boat — to help set the race course and later help remove the docks.
Those are the behind-the-scenes acts of generosity that most people never see.
But we see you. And we appreciate you. ❤️
And of course, thank you to the festival organizers, who have a grand vision of making this festival one of the best dragon boat festivals in the country — bringing together cultural performances, incredible food and exciting dragon boat racing.
That vision is what brought all of us together.
And yesterday, we got to see what is possible when that vision meets a community willing to roll up its sleeves and make it happen.
That is what dragon boating is about.
Different people.
Different teams.
Different backgrounds.
Different stories.
One boat. One team. One heartbeat.
And somewhere along the way, our little Plan B festival became something much bigger.
It became OUR festival.
And Oshkosh?
We think you just awakened the dragons. 🐉❤️
