The 9th annual Paddle for Pink Dragon Boat Festival is set to take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 13, 2015. at Mercer County Park Lake. The event will be held at Mercer County Park Lake in the Finish Line Tower Field area of the park, between the marina and tennis courts.
Paddle for Pink is hosted by the Machestic Dragons, New Jersey’s first breast cancer survivor’s dragon boat team. The event will feature live music, dance, entertainment and food. Vendors may reserve a space to support the cause. There will be a 50/50 raffle drawing, a silent auction that totals 12k, a gift basket offering and various cultural events.
Community participation makes this festival special. Last year teams competed in the exciting races and the Machestics invite community members to form teams and compete in the fun. Twenty paddlers make up a dragon boat team and race against other teams in their division. Teams of educators, neighbors and friends, business sponsored teams, semi-professionals and teams compiled of all women, and a breast cancer survivor division make up this year’s participants who will compete while helping to support a charitable cause.
The festival benefits local women and families affected by breast cancer. BCRC, Breast Cancer Resource Center of Princeton, remains a charity fund raiser beneficiary. To date the Machestics have donated $57,000 to BCRC to support free services provided to breast cancer patients and survivors. Other area organizations also receive a portion of the race profits.
Registration for PFP is now $ 900, after May 15 the team fee is $1,000. Interested participants can also register as a group or individually to be placed on a team. All registered teams may schedule one practice on the water with coaching and equipment provided by the Machestics at no extra charge in preparation for the race.
Registration and festival information can be found at paddleforpink.org.
