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Dragon Boat Racing in Action!
Want to see what the Solomons Dragon Boat Festival is all about? Here's a video of one of our most gripping final races between AMEWAS "Drag'n Butt"; Avian Engineering, LLC; and O'Brien Realty "River Rats". Don't you just love that photo finish?
Register your team by January 31 to receive a $500 discount!
The cost of having a boat in the race is $2,500. But the early dragon gets the “wyrm” in 2025! Any team that registers by January 31, 2025 will receive a $500 discount, and pay only $2,000. Will you be one of them?
Register Your Team >
Solomons Dragon Boat Races
Saturday, August 16, 9:00 a.m.
The annual Solomons Dragon Boat Festival is a fun, family-oriented event featuring up to 30 teams of paddlers competing for glory on the Patuxent River! It's a full day of dragon boat races, complete with a parade of teams, entertainment, children’s activities, a vendor village, and an awards ceremony. Events throughout the week include a traditional Dotting of the Eye Ceremony, practice sessions and a Flash Mob.
Race Specs
For novice paddlers and experienced ones, here are a few things you should know about our race. It's a 200-meter race course on the relatively shallow Patuxent River. Our boats contain 16 paddlers and a drummer, which you supply. There is also an experienced steer person, supplied by our professional company 22Dragons. Each team will receive one opportunity to practice the week before the event. Equipment is provided for the practice and the race day.
Dotting of the Eye Ceremony
Friday, August 15, 6:00 p.m.
Join us on the lawn of Our Lady Star of the Sea School in Solomons as we paint the eyes of the dragons to awaken them and wish them well in the races to come.
Race Divisions
The Solomons Dragon Boat Festival hosts three divisions each year. If there are entrants in the youth category, we may also have a youth division.
Community Division
Our community teams make up the bulk of our current boats. These are typically local businesses and special interest groups.
Register >
New: Paradragon Division
We were proud to introduce the Paradragon division in 2023 for teams with adaptive sports needs.
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New: BCS Division
We had our first official Breast Cancer Survivors division in 2023. We'll be excited to welcome these teams back to Solomons!
Register >
Approximate Race Day Schedule
Saturday, August 16
All timing is approximate and is dependent on conditions.
8:00 a.m.
Team captains will meet with our Teams Coordinator and 22Dragons representatives at the Muster area in the Solomons North parking lot. Drummer photos will be taken at this time.
8:30 a.m.
At the Gazebo, Presentation of Colors, Pledge of Allegiance, National Anthem
Our Vendor Village is also open to the public at this time.
9:00 a.m.
Races Begin!
10:00 a.m.
Our Exhibition Race takes place! Food trucks available for orders.
12:00 p.m.
Break for lunch. This timing is approximate.
We recommend you check out our local restaurants (or two or three!) and sample their specialty dragon drinks just for this event.
Specialty Dragon Drinks1:00 p.m.
Races resume. This timing is approximate.
3:00 p.m.
The final champions race will take place! Don't miss this race.
3:30 p.m.
Awards & Superlatives Presentations. This timing is approximate and depends upon when the day's races finish.
What is Dragon Boating?
The roots of dragon boat racing go back over 2,000 years to the southern provinces of China
Legend has it that Qu Yuan, a scholar and advisor to the emperor of the Chu Kingdom, jumped into the Mei Lo (Mi Luo) River in despair and protest against government corruption. Local fishermen raced out in their boats to save him, beating drums and pounding paddles on the river’s waters. They threw rice dumplings wrapped in silk into the river to distract the water dragons and keep them from devouring Qu Yuan’s body.
Out of the re-enactment of this legend at annual festivals, dragon boating evolved into the sport we know and celebrate today in Solomons, Maryland and around the world.
Event Map
Here's our easy-read map of Solomons for last year's festival!
Each year we have vendors, teams, food trucks, local shops & restaurants... and, of course, exciting races on the Patuxent River.
General Parking is located in the field across from the Calvert Marine Museum. Shuttles run from this lot and make several stops on the island indicated on the map. Shuttles operate from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
We hope to see you there on August 16th!
Vendor Village Map
Our Vendor Village is always chock full of vendors selling crafts, jewelry, clothing, candy and more! We also host booths for some of our nonprofit friends, and lots of other vendors. You can expect a thriving vendor village in our 2025 festival, and maybe some new fun you haven't seen before! This image is last year's map, to give you an idea of what it looks like. Stay tuned for our 2025 map!