The annual Dragonboat Race and Festival is coming back to Oshkosh this year for the ninth time on Sept. 20 with more teams than ever before. The event brings with it a variety of activities, entertainment and refreshments, but the festival’s main attraction is the boat race.
“I think I could probably watch the races all day but there’s a lot for people to do outside of just that,” UW Oshkosh Associate Marketing Specialist Jenell Riesner said. “We try to incorporate a family-friendly atmosphere.”
The annual festival raises money for a YMCA program that helps community members as well as three scholarships that are available to students at UW Oshkosh.
Part of the annual Fall Fest on the Fox, a celebration of Oshkosh’s waterways and the “bridges” that connect the greater Oshkosh community with the University students, the Dragonboat Race and Festival kicks off with team check-ins at 7:30 a.m. at the Leach Amphitheater on Sept. 20; races begin at 9 a.m. on the Fox River at Riverside Park (just outside of the Leach).
How it works: each Dragonboat careens down a 250 meter course along the Fox River with a team of 20 paddlers, a steersman who controls the rudder and a drummer who keeps time with the strokes. The race will be held near the Leach Amphitheater on the section of river between the Main Street bridge and the railroad tracks. Each team is guaranteed at least three heats with four boats competing simultaneously in each one. The teams are grouped for the third heat based on their average times from the previous two.
There are several different divisions in the competition for the 44 teams attending, making the race open to youth and college students as well as competitive traveling teams.
“Most of our groups are community groups, but Dragonboats are kind of becoming a popular thing to do and there’s clubs popping up all over the nation,” Riesner said. “There’s not a lot of festivals, so I think when people hear about one they want to get back out on the water.”
Although many come to participate in or watch the races, there are lots of other things to see and do at the festival. Activities include a cheerleading performance from the Oshkosh Knights, a display of exotic animals and even a lumberjack show complete with logrolling, chainsaw carving and axe-throwing. Food and beverages such as burgers, pulled pork and hot chocolate will also be provided through Sodexo for the event.
Throughout the weekend, Fall Fest offers a variety of other activities, which include events like Fish Fry on the Fox and Breakfast with the Chancellor.
- On Friday, Sept. 19, from 4 to 7 p.m., the University welcomes community guests for the Fish Fry on the Fox. Enjoy an all-you-care-to-eat buffet dinner featuring beer-battered and oven-baked fish, carved beef, hamburgers, grilled cheese, desserts, soft drinks and more. Live jazz, caricatures, face painting and horse-drawn tours of campus make this event a community favorite at Blackhawk Commons at the corner of Algoma Boulevard and Osceola Street on campus. Fish fry tickets may be purchased online. General admission is $10 advance or $12 on the event day. Children 12 and younger are $5 in advance and $6 on event day. Children younger than three eat free. UW Oshkosh students can use their meal plan for this event.
- Saturday, Sept. 20 events begin at 9 a.m. with “Breakfast with the Chancellor” in Reeve Memorial Union. Guests can enjoy an old-fashioned country breakfast with UW Oshkosh administrators. An advanced ticket purchase is required. Tickets can, again, be purchased online. Adults and UW Oshkosh students eat for $10, and children 12 and younger for $5.
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