On May 30, the Chinese American Association of Central Florida (CAACF) gave a huge shoutout to all participants! Despite the unstable morning weather at Lake Fairview, our community came together to celebrate the Duanwu Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday that falls on June 19 this year.
Nearly 100 attendees joined this special cultural and sporting celebration. Our Dragon Boat Eye‐Dotting Ceremony was led by distinguished VIP guests:
• Puxiao Cen, MD, FACC, MHE
• Pauline Huang, President of the Global Federation of Chinese Business Women 世界華人工商 婦女企管協會 GFCBW Orlando Chapter
• Joe Wang, Taiwan Overseas Chinese Affairs Commissioner
• Franco Tu, Overseas Community Affairs Secretary (Taiwan in Miami)
Around 7:30, all participants gathered, setting up big tents representing their designated groups
CAACF, Jocelyn presented a story featuring the Duanwu festival and its history alongside an exciting, interactive trivia.
All participants took on the process of breaking off into teams, warming up together with different stretches, then following through with learning new techniques from Team C.H.A.R.G.E. Dragon Boat.
With the newfound knowledge, our four different teams (red, yellow, green, and blue) then competed in a simulation race to get a feel of the water. Each team had an equal distribution of our participating organizations.
Our simulation race ended off with our blue team and it was exciting to see two of our Orange County Fire Rescue Department helping this team to victory!
Every participant received a medal and a zongzi (sticky rice dumpling) to celebrate the spirit of Duanwu.
A big thank‐you to all CAACF members, The Chinese School of CAACF 中佛州中華學校, and Team C.H.A.R.G.E. Dragon Boat – Orlando for bringing your energy, teamwork, and enthusiasm — and for sharing the delicious zongzi!
We also extend our appreciation to Orlando Rowing Club, Orlando Rowing Club—Dragon Boat Club (ORC-DBC), Ms Andrea Eliscu, and all of our dedicated CHARGE Dragon Boat Club volunteers for making this event smooth and memorable.
It was a joy to showcase our sport and culture to:
• Global Federation of Chinese Business Women 世界華人工商婦女企管協會 GFCBW Orlando Chapter
• Orange County Fire Rescue Department, Florida
• R.E.A.C.H. of Central Florida
