The Dragon Boat Festival will fall on Monday, June 10th, this year. The annual festival is associated with the beginning of summer, the mastery of water and the expulsion of plagues and calamities.
Traditional rituals include hanging sprigs of mugwort, wearing protective amulets, burning offerings and eating sticky rice dumplings stuffed with sweet or savory fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves.
In addition, the festival is connected with dragon boat races honoring the fourth century poet, Chu Yuan (屈原), and popular on various waterways throughout Taiwan. These regattas will be held on June 10th, and also take place in the days leading up to and after the festival.
There will be many places to see dragon boats racing on the water. Some of the largest and most prominent events will take place on the Jiaoxi (Chiaohsi) River in Yilan, the Love River in Kaohsiung, the Dajia River in Taipei and the Yunhe River in Tainan.
Smaller competitions will also be held in Kinmen, Keelung, New Taipei City, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu, Hualien and Changhua. Events are generally scheduled to begin at 9 am and continue throughout the day.