You'll Love This One-Of-A-Kind River Festival In Downtown Nashville
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Meghan Kraft
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With summer right around the corner we’re more than ready to get out in the great outdoors and experience the beauty of the south in all it’s glory. With the sunshine comes the people of Nashville, and when the people of Nashville arrive there’s sure to be a celebration. The Cumberland River Dragon Boat Race is one of the most overlooked events in the city, but we tend to find it one of the most exciting and adrenaline inducing. Take a look!
The Cumberland River snakes its way through the heart of Nashville, making Music City a bit of a River City. Bridges crisscross the city and make way for some of the most exciting events in the state - and it's free to watch!
Hosted by the Cumberland River Compact, the all-day Dragon Boat Festival event runs (tentatively) from 10am to 4:30pm on September 8th, 2018, and is one of the most exciting and fun outdoor events in the city.
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What a thing to experience - a race on the Cumberland River! The local boat race requires you to have twenty person team of rowers and a designated drummer to compete. The race course is roughly 250 meters, and runs from the Shelby Street bridge to the Woodland Street Bridge.
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The legend of the Dragon Boat originated in China, over 2,000 years ago, and the story honors both poet and patriot Qu Yuan.
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In the contemporary US, dragon boat racing is a fun and amusing event, one that's celebrated with fanfare across the country. A fallen statesman and artist has spawned one of the most colorful and cultural events in the world.
If you visit for the race in Nashville, you'll experience the traditional dotting of the Dragon's eye that initiates the start. It's said to awaken the dragon and infuse the competing crews with strength from the beast itself.
Registration opened on February 15th, so make sure you get a group of dedicated friends or co-workers together and you start training! This isn't a race for schlumps, you're going to have to bring your A'game to make the trek from one bridge to the next in record time.
The whole city shows out for the Cumberland River Dragon Festival in late summer, and it's a fun event to be apart of or to experience on a sunny Saturday. Have you been?
You can keep the bridge theme alive with a visit to this gorgeous bridge hike in Nashville, Tennessee. Would you dare?
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