Published Jun. 22, 2026at6:09am
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, the typically placid Lake Merced Park located in San Francisco’s quiet southwest was instead the scene of a showdown.
Biceps strained as teams of 20 paddlers pulled and pushed oars with precise timing, a seated guide at the head of the long, narrow dragon boats drumming to keep everyone on beat.
The teams raced 200 meters, a line of buoys on the other end marking the finish for the champions who roared in celebration as their vessel made it through first.
Back on shore, the teams chatted amiably while devouring trays of roast pork, a fittingly celebratory marker of San Francisco’s first Dragon Boat Festival in more than a decade.