Sorry for being obtuse earlier... please allow me to be more specific.
Thank you Ayla for posting information about the Salem World Beat Dragon Boat Race.It sounds WONDERFUL. I like that it will really emphasize a multicultural component, as many dragon boat festivals were started with this concept in mind, to use dragon boat racing as a component for drawing people to multicultural festivals. I checked the
www.worldbeatfestival.org website and discovered the vast array of cultures from around the world are well represented with "villages" emphasizing Asian/Pacific, Americas, Africa and Europe.
By learning more about other cultures and races, it helps society become less prone to racism. This is a good reminder for our lives both in Canada and the US, as we recognize the recent January 15th Martin Luther King Day.
Oregon is one of my favorite places to visit. Oregon teams have always been great to the Gung Haggis Fat Choy team and paddlers, and we really loved attending the inaugural Portland Sellwood Park race. And the Willemette Valley is home to one of North America's premier wine growing areas, after Napa Valley and of course BC's wonderful Okanagan Valley.
I would love to attend Salem World Beat Dragon Boat race, but will be hard pressed not to attend the inaugural Whistler Dragon Boat Race at Alta Lake.
Good luck on the Salem World Beat Dragon Boat Festival