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 Visitors
to Tavares' Wooten Park on the weekend of April 8-10 would have
experienced unusual sights and sounds, including the steady beating of
drums, and large, colorful dragon boats racing across Lake Dora.
It was the Third Annual Central Florida Dragon Boat Festival, in which a
long list of teams competed with one another. One of the teams, the
Blazing Paddlers, was made up of 22 of Pringle Development's owners.
Each team consists of a drummer, a steers person and 20 paddlers working
in unison to propel a long, 700-pound Chinese boat.
The event is based on a Chinese legend about a nobleman who threw
himself into a river, and the local people beat their drums to scare
away the fish. Today, the races have evolved to symbolize team building.
 Opening
ceremonies were held on Friday evening, with musical entertainment and
plenty of food. The lantern-lit dragon boats approached the shore at
dusk to represent the awakening of the dragons. At 9 AM on Saturday, the
races began, and a new race consisting of three boats was conducted
every 10-15 minutes. Paddlers raced a 500-meter course to a finish line
where the judges recorded the winners and the times. Races continued
throughout the day until the winners were announced. Our Pringle team
came in second place out of 23 other teams! This is the second year that
the Blazing Paddlers have participated in this wonderful event and they
look forward to the race next year.
 In
addition to the boat races, visitors were entertained by a group of
renowned acrobats currently performing in Disney World - The Dragon
Legend - who tossed and tumbled as the crowd applauded the show. At
noon, there was a parachuting demonstration by the Green Berets. One of
the members held a large American flag, which sailed high in the sky for
several minutes before landing.
The
Tavares Rotary Club, the City of Tavares and Florida Choice Bank hosted
the races, awarding a total of $6,000 in prizes. Excellent weather
conditions resulted in a large crowd of observers and participants who
came from many areas in and around Central Florida.
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