Jade Keomanivong gripped her paddle tight as the boat drifted up to the starting line at the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival on a hot day in the summer of 2019. Her field of view was obscured by her teammate鈥檚 muscled back in the seat in front of her. All she could hear was the hushed anticipation of the crowd and the droplets of water falling from 20 paddles.
鈥淎ll of the sudden they鈥檙e calling paddlers ready and your blades are in the water,鈥� Keomanivong remembered. 鈥淚t鈥檚 that little moment when you鈥檙e like, 鈥渙kay, breathe in, breathe out, time to go.鈥�
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In 2019, Keomanivong was 17 years old, the youngest member of the CU Denver team. Five years later, she is the co-captain, and de facto co-coach, of that same team.
This weekend, the team will join more than 45 other dragon boat crews on Sloan鈥檚 Lake in Denver for the. Last year, it brought in 200,000 people from all walks of life, and organizers hope for more of the same.
鈥淚 saw a two-year-old baby at the festival, and, the same day, I met a blind gentleman who is 79 and has been coming to the event ever since the inception,鈥� Colorado Dragon Boat executive director Sara Moore told 萝莉少女.
Though the races are an integral part of the weekend, the festival鈥檚 mission is much broader: to celebrate Colorado鈥檚 Asian/Pacific American cultures. The park will host a pop-up Asian market, food vendors and all-weekend performances from local Asian/Pacific American bands and musicians. The celebration runs from dawn to dusk on Saturday and Sunday.
When three Denverites founded the festival 24 years ago, their aspiration was to create an event that would celebrate Asian/Pacific American people's shared identity, while also showcasing their diverse cultures. Dragon Boat racing, a 2,000-year-old practice that鈥檚 origin story involves a banished warrior-poet in ancient China, seemed like a natural choice. It was flashy and fun married with competition and athleticism, two things that Coloradans tend to rally behind.
鈥淒ragon boating has just been a fun way to hook everybody,鈥� Moore joked. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l come for the dragon boats and they鈥檒l stay for the performances, marketplace, food and really just be immersed in culture and art.鈥�
Keomanivong, whose family moved to Denver from Chicago when she was seven, remembers coming to the festival as a kid. It was one of the only local gatherings that featured other Asian Americans. In an overwhelmingly white city in an overwhelmingly white state, she often felt like an outsider. But the Dragon Boat Festival felt like home.
鈥淣ot a lot of people looked like me,鈥� Keomanivong explained. 鈥淚 was trying to find a community where I belonged.鈥�
Later, when she started paddling with the CU Denver team, Keomanivong found a level of comradery that she had never had before. Now, as a co-captain, she tries to foster that same sense of community for her team.
Last week, the crew trickled onto the boat dock at Sloan's Lake for an evening practice. Keomanivong handed out jerseys and encouraged everyone to put on sunscreen. Her mentees lovingly teased her as she posed for photos with the team's social media guru. There was a rambunctious, nervous energy among the 20 paddlers as they donned life vests and pushed off from the dock.
The team rounded the corner to exit the artificial bay on the lake and Keomanivong called for them to 鈥減ress five.鈥� The boat lurched forward as the racers put their backs into five heaving strokes. She sat in the front facing the paddlers, and, as they made their way across the lake, everyone but Keomanivong鈥檚 voice quickly faded.
鈥淎t the end of the day, we鈥檙e doing the same movement over and over again for 200 or 400 or 2,000 meters. How do you get a whole group of 20 people to be fully in sync?,鈥� she said.
Now, she barked a thoughtful stream-of-consciousness monologue, drawing deftly on inside jokes and personal experiences to motivate and entertain. In a particularly poignant moment, she quoted the anime 鈥淗aikyu!!鈥� 鈥淚f we keep holding on to yesterday, what are we going to be tomorrow?,鈥� asked Keomanivong.
鈥淚 know you might be feeling some nerves as we get closer to race day,鈥� she said. 鈥淓verything that we're doing today is a challenge. Whatever happened yesterday doesn鈥檛 matter.鈥�
Keomanivong and her team are serious about training to win, but the competition is actually quite friendly. As they drifted back into the bay, the captains greeted other practicing teams warmly. Most of the local competitors know each other, and some have even paddled together. They are looking forward to the festival this weekend. Not just the competition, but the art, music and food, too.
will be held this weekend on the west side of Sloan's Lake at 25th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard in Denver. Races run 8 a.m. to dusk each day. Land-based festivities run 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, July 27, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 28. Attendance is free. There is noto parking at the lake. Parking at Auraria Campus is $10 and a free shuttle will run to the lake.
This story is funded by the Neil Best Fellowship, a six-month program designed to engage talented students from local colleges and universities. For this fellowship, Gabe Allen is focused on expanding the station's presence on emerging platforms to reach broader and more diverse audiences.
