This weekend, dragons will return to the waters of Lake Merced.
Not mythical ones — but the brightly painted dragon heads mounted on long, narrow racing boats, as paddlers prepare for the return of San Francisco’s Dragon Boat Race after a six-year hiatus.
For weeks, teams have been practicing on the lake ahead of races happening Saturday and Sunday. The event also happens to fall on the same weekend as the traditional Dragon Boat Festival, a holiday celebrated across many Asian communities.
Sarah Wan, one of the event organizers, said dragon boat racing has deep roots in Chinese culture, especially in southern China. Each boat carries 20 paddlers, seated in 10 rows, moving in perfect rhythm to the beat of a drummer positioned at the front.
The festival commemorates Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet and statesman who, more than 2,000 years ago, became a symbol of resistance against government corruption.
“The dragon is also the symbolism of Chinese culture about strength, about prosperity, and all the good faith,” said Wan.
Wan is also a paddler herself, so naturally, I had to ask her what it takes to win.
She said success comes down to teamwork — every paddler has to move in complete sync.
“We do a very strong start so that hopefully we can lift up the boat off from the water at the beginning,” Wan said. “But different teams have different strategies. Some of them do very long pulls, some of them do very deep pulls.”
The weekend festivities go beyond the races themselves.
Visitors can also check out a food festival, live entertainment, hands-on drumming experiences, a mini dragon boat activity for kids, and workshops teaching people how to wrap zongzi — sticky rice dumplings traditionally eaten during the holiday, sometimes known as Chinese tamales.
Lake Merced will host both the races and related cultural activities throughout the weekend.
For more information:
2026 San Francisco Dragon Boat Festival
