Dragons gather for Superior festival
Aug. 11—SUPERIOR — The Twin Ports is team-ing with dragons. The most recent sighting was Wednesday, Aug. 9 at Barkers Island Inn, where team captains gathered to prepare for the Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival, which takes place Aug. 25-26.
The crowd included 14-year-old Kylee Johnson, already a veteran with one successful competition under her belt. She was the drummer for the Holden Insurance team, Holden Our Own, in 2022.
"It was new and fun," Johnson said. "And it was a bonding experience."
She was drafted by her father, team captain Charlie Johnson.
"He said that he had an open space on his team for paddling and so I'm like, 'I'll do it.' And then on our first practice, they needed a drummer. So I was the lightest on the team, so I got that position," Johnson said.
The team had one practice prior to the race, which the teen said was a little sloppy. During the competition, they pulled it together and paddled to a fourth-place finish overall. As the drummer, Johnson set the pace for the rest of the team. Her key to victory? Giving an eight count between each beat.
She encouraged others to give it a try.
"It's a fun experience to try something new and maybe find something that's a new hobby for you," said Johnson, who is back as drummer for 2023.
The festival — organized, operated and staffed by Rotary Club of Superior — has three goals: To raise money for the Rotary Club and their charitable giving; to raise funds for the festival's charitable partner,
23rd Veteran;
and to provide a fun, family event. Since the first festival in 2002, the event has raised more than $1.3 million to support charitable organizations in the Twin Ports. This year, the Rotary Club of Duluth Skyline is partnering with the Superior club to put on the event.
The festival was shuttered during 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, but returned in 2022.
"It was a great comeback," said Dan Blank, who serves on the executive board for Rotary Club of Superior.
The race attracted about 50 teams, good community support, sponsorships and nice weather.
"The island was full of people having fun, and that's kind of the main thing. It's a free, family fun event that the Rotary decided to present to the community," Blank said.
The 2023 festival will include a lineup of live music both days. Saturday activities will include a pancake breakfast, 5K fun run, tug of war and "Minute to Win It" prize games. It's one of the focal points of the summer in Superior, according to Joe Radtke, who helped launch the first festival in 2002.
He and fellow founder Tom Wondolkowski have served in every capacity — volunteer, organizer and paddler. Radke's favorite spot is on a dragon boat.
"Paddling, being in the boat with a team is just exciting," he said, but there's also something gratifying about organizing the event, which is a year-round process.
Volunteering behind the wheel of the shuttle bus has been Wondolkowski's best memory.
"It comes down to one word, 'smiles,' when you see people just plain having fun," he said.
The younger generation of Rotary members has been critical to reviving the festival following the pandemic, Radtke said, and partnering with 23rd Veteran has added to the success.
"They do so much great work for helping veterans who suffer trauma," Radtke said.
Mark Johnson of Cloquet recently completed a 14-week program with 23rd Veteran, which has rehab programs in Duluth, the Twin Cities and Philadelphia. It started with a weeklong wilderness adventure followed by 13 weeks of team workouts. Three times a week the group gathered for CrossFit training followed by positive psychology sessions. The workout preps the brain to learn, Mark Johnson said, and participants can work through reconditioning their brain in the wake of trauma.
"Instead of managing the symptoms, you're addressing them," he said.
All the funds raised for 23rd Veteran will go to the Duluth program.
There's still time to sign up for the festival, either with a team or just as a solo paddler. There are a number of teams with open seats, according to the Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival website:
A full list of events is available on the website, as well.
