03/21/26 Press Release
- Mar 21
- 6 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
THE 26TH ANNUAL AUSTIN DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES OFFICIAL PROGRAMMING, FEATURING: PERFORMANCES FROM MULTIPLE MUSIC TROUPES; A DRAGON BOAT AUCTION, WITH LIVE PAINTING WITH VISUAL ARTIST ZHC; AND FOOD OPTIONS INCLUDING BAO, MATCHA, TRADITIONAL ZONGZI AND MORE
Taking place April 25 at Festival Beach, Lady Bird Lake, this festival honors the ancient sport of dragon boating while also promoting Austin’s own community and cultural heritage
(AUSTIN, TEXAS — March 31, 2026; source: Juice Consulting) — The 26th annual Austin Dragon Boat Festival, taking place April 25, 2026 at Festival Beach, Lady Bird Lake (1621 Nash Hernandez Senior Rd, Austin, TX 78702), announces programming, food vendors, participating brands and more. Produced by The Lunar Foundation, this year’s Festival will kick off at 10 a.m.; the event will feature cultural performances from several dance teams and music troupes, including Austin Taiko, the Texas Dragon/Lion Dance Team and the Austin Filipino Cultural Dance Troupe. There will be multiple food options including Red Dragon Bao, Happy Lemon and Kessho, with brands like H-E-B and Coca-Cola participating with activations onsite. Additionally, Zachary Hsieh (ZHC), an Austin-based visual artist with over 29.3 million YouTube subscribers known for hyper-detailed, large-scale artworks that transform everyday objects into extraordinary originals, will join this year’s Austin Dragon Boat Festival by painting a 40-foot dragon boat at a private location in Austin, then bringing it to life with a live finishing session on the festival grounds at the event in front of thousands of ADBF attendees. This boat will then be auctioned off, with bidding available through April 30.
With 20 teams, 400 paddlers and 3,000 attendees, the festival welcomes fans and competitors from all over the world. The Austin Dragon Boat Festival is a free, public event, open to all ages, with no admission fee for spectators. To register to compete in the Dragon Boat race, please see here (deadline to register is April 10). For more information on the Austin Dragon Boat Festival, see here. To inquire about potential sponsorship opportunities, email here.
"I've been involved with the coordination of this race for about 20 years now and I love seeing new people enjoy the sport as well as seeing familiar faces return each year,” said Sheena Chang, Race Coordinator, Austin Dragon Boat Festival. “I'm hoping to see it grow in the next 25 years under The Lunar Foundation for the sport to gain even more visibility."
PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE
10 a.m. - ADBF Opening Ceremony
Texas Dragon/Lion Dance Team
Eye Dotting Ceremony (Boat Dock)
10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. – Cultural Performances at main stage and Mass Tai Chi in east field
12 p.m. – Breast Cancer Survivors Flower Ceremony (Boat Dock)
12:30 - 3:30 p.m. – Cultural Performances (Main Stage)
3:15 p.m. – Summit Lion-Dragon Dance Team
3:30 p.m. – Race Awards Ceremony including Lone Star Dragons Send Off
The Austin Dragon Boat Festival is one of Central Texas’s longest-running cultural celebrations, uniting hundreds of paddlers, performers, and families each spring. Established by Amy Wong Mok, Founder & CEO of the Asian American Cultural Center and the President of the Asian American Community Partnership, in 1999, the festival honors the ancient sport of dragon boating while showcasing Austin’s diverse Asian and Pacific Islander heritage.
"We are thrilled to present a festival program that reflects the rich diversity of the AANHPI community in Central Texas,” said Erica Deiparine-Sugars, Head of Programs, The Lunar Foundation. “As we celebrate 26 years of the Austin Dragon Boat Festival, we honor both tradition and creativity with the energy and excitement that makes this event so unique. Cultural celebrations like this are more impactful than ever as Central Texas continues to grow and welcome people from all backgrounds".
This year will feature cultural performances from Austin Taiko, Texas Dragon/Lion Dance Team, Austin Filipino Cultural Dance Troupe, Summit Lion-Dragon Dance Team, Austin Folk Dance & Music Group, UriKarak Dance Group, Kathak Rhythms and SIPM, and Lilly Hosanna Dance. Food vendors will include Happy Lemon at The Linc, Junbi Matcha, Kessho, Red Dragon Bao, Si Baby-Q and TLF Zongzi & Beverages - additionally, there will be a showcase of zongzi, a Chinese dish traditionally eaten during Dragon Boat Festivals, and part of the festival’s origin. Further programming includes brand activations from Topo Chico, Central Health, H-E-B Kids Activity, Munchie Pals, Sendero Health Plans and Texas State Parks.
"Amy Wong Mok built something extraordinary over 25 years, and we don't take that responsibility lightly,” said Andrew Lee, Executive Director, The Lunar Foundation. “The Austin Dragon Boat Festival has become one of this city's most meaningful cultural traditions, bringing together thousands of paddlers, families, and visitors every spring. As The Lunar Foundation steps into stewardship of this event, we're committed to honoring that legacy while expanding what's possible for AANHPI artists and communities across Central Texas."
The Austin Dragon Boat Festival is a 25+ year legacy cultural and sporting event held annually on Lady Bird Lake. Dragon Boat Racing teams representing local communities, companies, universities, cultural associations and more race side by side in friendly competition - the festival works with groups such as the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and additionally, each year the festival holds a powerful Breast Cancer Survivors Flower Ceremony, where paddlers and families gather to honor those they have lost and celebrate those still fighting, a tradition that began when dragon boat racing became a source of strength and recovery for breast cancer survivors around the world. The dragon boat race is a "teamwork" sport of 22 members, moving a 40 ft. decorated dragon boat together to the same drum beats. Competitors from around the world are welcome to take advantage of Austin's beautiful Lady Bird Lake.
The Austin Dragon Boat Festival is one of Austin’s longest-running Asian American cultural events and has been recognized by the City of Austin through proclamations in many prior years - with official Dragon Boat Festival Days occurring from 2015 - 2018. Organizations that have participated - or will be participating again - in the festival include H-E-B, Bank of America, Bazaarvoice, EMBREY, NXP, Tokyo Electron, Visa Asians Standing Together, and more. Community teams this year include ATX Hongkongers, Austin C Dragon Team, Cyber Dragons and Cyber Dragons 2, while club teams include CATCH 22 PNW, DUC Pink and Island Warriors. BLIND FURY (Lighthouse of Houston) and Wildcats (Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired) round out the competition as student entries.
This year, the festival will host a special send-off celebration for the Lone Star Dragons, Texas’s elite dragon boat team that recently qualified for the 15th IDBF Club Crew World Championships in Taiwan. The team, composed of top paddlers from Austin, Houston, and Dallas, earned their spot after qualifying in the 2025 USDBF Club Crew National Championships.
This 2026 festival marks the first year under stewardship of The Lunar Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting AANHPI artists and cultural initiatives in Central Texas. This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment. Keep up with updates on the Festival here.
ABOUT THE DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL:
The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday that occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, originating from the legend of Qu Yuan, a beloved scholar of the people and a minister to the King of Chu, who was eventually exiled by the king. Qu Yuan jumped into the Mi Luo River in protest of the corruption of the era, and although citizens’ efforts to get into boats and race to save him were unsuccessful, they hoped to scare away the fish and evil spirits by beating drums, splashing the water with paddles and throwing rice wrapped in leaves (later known as zhong zi) into the water to feed the fish so that they would stay away from Qu Yuan’s body; this idea would be the origin of the sport of dragon boating (dragons being the river gods in Chinese culture). Today, the festival is celebrated around the world with races as well as the eating of zongzi, and boats adorned with a dragon head and tail - with each race always beginning with a dotting of the eye ceremony, symbolizing the awakening of the dragon.
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MEDIA NOTE:
For press requests or general inquiries, please contact the team at Juice Consulting:
Tyler Ostby
210 854 9119
Madison Snelling
210 213 8934