Dragon Boat Races and Taiwanese Opera in Hsinchu County: Xinfeng Celebrates Dragon Boat Festival with Great Fanfare

(Taiwan Business News) The "2014 Dragon Boat Festival Carnival" will kick off with great fanfare from May 31 to June 1 at Chihe Temple in Xinfeng Township. In addition to traditional dragon boat races, environmentally friendly beach cleanups, folk art performances, and creative sachet DIY activities, there will also be wonderful performances by U-Theatre and the Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group, filling Hsinchu County's Dragon Boat Festival with the din of gongs and drums and lively excitement.

For the Xinfeng Dragon Boat Festival celebration series, a spring beach cleanup will be held at the Mangrove Ecological Protection Area on May 31 (Saturday) from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Participants will receive a fine eco-friendly bag and 1 bottle of water; cleaning tools will be provided on site, and there will also be a recycling exchange activity, where 20 waste batteries or 20 illegal advertisement papers (boards) can each be exchanged for 1 pack of toilet paper.

After the beach cleanup, the good show begins from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., when the Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group, led by Sun Cuifeng, will present at the mangrove parking lot a joyful and lively traditional ceremony of a hundred immortals offering congratulations, along with the deeply moving play "Liu Quan Offers Melons." Two 300-inch large screens will be set up on site with real-time subtitles, letting the public enjoy the show to the fullest and celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival early.

On June 1 (Sunday) from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, by the lakeside at Chihe Temple, there will be the "Zhufeng Rice Dumpling Sentiment DIY Creative Dragon Boat Festival Epidemic-Together" activity, including folk art performances and creative sachet DIY activities, taught and guided by teachers and 30 volunteers. 600 places will be open on site for making sachets; with a completed creative sachet, participants can receive 2 rice dumplings.

After a joyful morning, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., U-Theatre will once again come to Hsinchu County. U-Theatre will lead the Hsinchu Logistics Zen Drum Class, UMC Zen Drum Class, Xinhu Junior High School, and young drummers to present the "Beautiful Taiwan Heart - Sword of the Brave" performance. This performance is the midpoint of their Cloud Walk Project, and after the performance they will continue walking to Muzha in Taipei.