MINOCQUA, Wis. (WJFW) – The Minocqua Dragon Boat Festival is a fun, free family event that attracts thousands of people from across the country and abroad. The event began in 2016.
“We have over 550 paddlers from six states and this year our first international paddler from Germany,” said Erin Biertzer, president of the Howard Young Foundation.
The teams compete against each other in races of three boats each, with each team starting at least twice.
“The community teams are here to have fun. We want everyone to have a great day. It’s a great day for fundraising. The club teams are competing, so you’ll see a lot more athletic fitness from the club teams,” Biertzer said.
The teams compete in teams of 20 people per boat in 2 rows, there is also a drummer who sits backwards and hits the drum in time with the beats and is controlled by a professional. The event also helps raise funds for local hospitals in the area.
“Our goal is to raise funds for our two hospitals, Howard Young Medical Center and Aspirus Eagle River Hospital. In addition to the many donations from people, every donation today will be doubled and quadrupled, making every dollar donated worth $4 thanks to a generous donation from one of our donors and a matching of the amount by Aspirus Hospital,” said Biertzer.
Biertzer also says that community support helps keep the event going every year.
“Anyone can do it, that’s what I love about dragon boat racing. You see people here who have no experience at all paddling on the water, but they are professionally trained beforehand, we do a practice session and when they come out of the water, everyone who comes out has a great time,” said Biertzer.
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