The Fox Valley is getting a dragon boat festival. Organizers plan a diverse celebration of food, art and culture.
OSHKOSH – Organizers of a new festival aim to foster social connections and belonging in the Fox Valley — via dragon boat races.
The Northeast Wisconsin (N.E.W.) Dragon Boat Festival will take place Sept. 16 at Riverside Park and the Leach Amphitheater in Oshkosh, said Angie Lee, current chair of the city's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and an organizer of the event.
"This festival is about celebrating what we have in this region, all the different diverse communities we have and those big ideas around connectedness and belonging," Lee said.
Here's what organizers have planned so far for the festival.
What will the festival include?
Lee is hoping to have 50 teams compete in the dragon boat races, which will coincide with a global food market, "affinity" resource fair and cultural performances.
She envisions the affinity fair as a compilation of organizations and nonprofits including faith organizations, police and fire departments, and more that provide interactive opportunities for attendees to learn more about them.
"That's kind of a resource fair where we're hoping to create opportunities for people who come to the festival to find connections in their community with different entities and organizations," Lee said.
A slew of family friendly activities will be held during the day, as well as a nighttime component, though a timed schedule is still in the works.
"We want to promote culture, empower our culture and we want second- or third-generation Chinese Americans to know about their culture and be proud of it," said Fanni Xie, one of the organizers of the event and president of the Northeast Wisconsin Chinese Association. "At same time, want to advocate ourselves to provide interpretation services, culture organizations and be connected."
That will include live entertainment from various organizations, a diverse art and craft market as well as food from a variety of cultures and backgrounds.
Lee said they are growing their artists and vendor list but aren't able to share it yet.
"We are trying to seek out diverse artists, not exclude it to only diverse artists but make them a priority," she said.
How do dragon boat races work?
Each dragon boat consists of a team of 22 people: one steerer, provided by the dragon boat company, and teams of 20 rowers and one drummer.
Lee said not to worry, though, they're planning to help fill boats if teams have fewer than 21 people.
Teams can start registering soon. Those interested can fill out a contact form on the website newdragonboat.com to be notified when registration information is available.
Who is organizing the Dragon Boat Festival?
Lee said the festival came about after Xie approached her to ask about reintroducing the event.
"A lot of times when we talk about minorities, we're thinking about trauma, barriers and the challenges we have," Xie said. "I really want to emphasize the fun parts of the culture. There are really great things."
Now, Lee is working with a team of women to plan the festival: Xie and Lindsay Yang, NEWCA's vice president, as well as Sheng Lee, owner of Sheng Lee Marketing and Shana Yule, owner of Salt and Pepper Marketing in Appleton.
The City of Oshkosh is an official sponsor, and Lee said there is plenty of "auxiliary" support.
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How much does the festival cost to organize?
Lee said they are still working to secure sponsorships and funding — she estimates the entire festival will cost $100,000.
The DEI committee is recommending to council that the city put $5,000 toward the festival from a fund that is used to go toward a "unity and community" event.
The rest of the money will come from grants and sponsorships, which Lee said they are still looking for. Additionally, team registration and vendor fees will bring in revenue, though Lee said they want to be conscientious and use sliding costs that don't prohibit anyone from participating.
"We are trying to do that in a way that's equitable and not create a barrier," she said.
Dragon boat team registration, for example, will cost between $800-$1,200, and places like nonprofits will get a discount.
Xie said they are also limiting vendor fees to increase access.
Lee said they also want to be able to give some of the proceeds to local organizations, though those have not been identified.
Wait a minute ... haven't I seen these boats in Oshkosh before?
This isn't the first time dragon boats have filled the Fox River in Oshkosh.
The Oshkosh Community YMCA and University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh partnered to start the original Oshkosh Dragon Boat Festival in 2005, according to Jeff Schneider, current president and CEO of the Oshkosh Y.
Schneider said that festival held its last event in September 2015 and cited a financial impact because of declining participation as the reason for its cancellation.
"The event was a large undertaking and involved significant hours of work by (the) Y and UWO staff and hundreds of volunteers," he said via email. "In the end, (it) was not performing in a way that made financial sense for the Y or UWO."
Lee said there will be a lot of similar components to the original festival — "we're just going to add more diverse offerings."
By broadening the scope of the event to include all of the Fox Valley and Northeast Wisconsin, Lee said they are also hoping to make it a "destination" for visitors and residents alike.
"We want to attract visitors to the area, create new connections and expand cultural experiences of our community members," she said.
How can I get involved in the festival?
The N.E.W. Dragon Boat Festival is seeking many volunteers, artists and vendors. Additionally, Lee said they are still looking for sponsors.
Those interested in learning more can visit newdragonboat.com and fill out a contact form. Visit the website or follow the Northeast Wisconsin Dragon Boat Festival's Facebook page for updates.
Why is the festival returning now?
Lee said the festival fits with the DEI Committee's goal to add more diverse events to the area.
The Oshkosh city council approved a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee Strategic Plan in March, which stated goals of community outreach and engagement.
She also thinks it fits with a troubling trend she noticed in the city's annual Oshkosh Community Survey done in partnership with UW-Oshkosh, where one question regarding Oshkosh being a place accepting of diversity appears to be declining.
The annual survey sees just a few hundred participants each year, but those numbers, until 2022, were as low as they'd been, according to the city's survey results.
In 2021, only 32% of the 204 respondents thought Oshkosh were accepting of diversity. In 2020, 30% of 294 respondents thought so.
In 2022, the city partnered with the National Community Survey and changed the wording slightly. That survey only saw 153 respondents, but 42% of them answered "excellent" or "good" for the question of whether Oshkosh was open and accepting "towards people of diverse backgrounds."
Lee wants to see those numbers increase.
A more recent question added in 2018 that asks whether Oshkosh is a "welcoming, inclusive community" showed more mixed results that were lower but trended positive in 2022.
For Xie, the festival is part of her personal mission to help minority and female business owners and community members connect with more community resources and learn what's available to them.
NEWCA, which has served the region from Fond du Lac to Door County for 40 years, has historically held more of a passive role, and she said not a lot of people knew about it.
When she became president last November, she vowed to change that. She organized a Chinese New Year event that more than sold out, which prompted her to find more cultural events.
"That gave me hope and told me there was a need in the area," she said. "People wanted to experience the culture."
What are the organizers' long-term goals for the festival?
The N.E.W. Dragon Boat Festival takes place near the start of the school year and during National Welcoming Week, which Lee said encourages communities to find ways to bring people together.
And what's more team-building than rowing a 1,000-plus pound dragon boat?
"Even just through feeling like you belong on a team can organically create that feeling of belonging," she said.
Xie also hopes the event introduces people to cultural activities they may not know about, such as Zumba dancers, tai chi masters and other events.
Both are hopeful it translates to connections beyond one day a year.
Lee hopes it'll spark thoughtful ways of building connections, welcoming and belonging — even if that's as small as learning how to say hello in another language.
For example, she said, "the Hmong population has been here for decades and I don't know how to say hello. How powerful and impactful if community leaders could learn to say, 'hello, I care about you' or 'you belong here' — how powerful is that? And it doesn't cost a thing."
Lee acknowledged it's a lot to ask for one festival, but it's something she thinks is worthwhile.
"There are some really big goals," she said. "In the end, (we) want people to feel like they are a little more connected to the area."
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Contact Katy Macek at kmacek@gannett.com or 920-426-6658. Follow her on Twitter @KatherineMacek.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Northeast Wisconsin Dragon Boat Festival plans Oshkosh debut this fall
