{"id":237580,"date":"2026-04-06T19:47:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/237580\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T19:47:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:47:07","slug":"austin-bookstore-traffic-surges-on-annual-book-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/237580\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin bookstore traffic surges on annual ‘book trail’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin-based YouTuber Zachary Hsieh will turn a 40-foot dragon boat into a live canvas during the 26th annual Austin Dragon Boat Festival<\/a>. He’ll finish the piece in front of crowds at Festival Beach on April 25<\/a>, before the boat heads to auction later that week.<\/p>\n

Hsieh, originally from the Bay Area and known online as ZHC,<\/a> is recognized for large-scale, brightly colored illustrations. He has more than 29.3 million YouTube subscribers and has built a massive following by turning custom artwork into spectacle. His projects include surprising influencers with illustrated iPhones<\/a>, spending 100 hours painting a hospital <\/a>while donating $200,000 toward medical bills, and gifting Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, a teal, hand-painted Tesla<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ZHC donates most of his artwork, and the dragon boat project will follow a similar path. He’ll paint a full-size decommissioned dragon boat and donate it to the Lunar Foundation<\/a> for auction. Bidding on the boat <\/a>will continue through April 30. The opening bid on the boat will be $25,000.<\/p>\n

The Austin Dragon Boat Festival, sponsored by The Lunar Foundation and Austin Asian American Cultural Center,<\/a> is one of the city\u2019s longest-running cultural celebrations. The free, all-ages event at Festival Beach (1621 Nash Hernandez Sr. Rd.) begins at 10 am, with dragon boat races scheduled throughout the day alongside performances and food.<\/p>\n

\"Eye Participants paint the dragon\u2019s eye during a traditional \u201ceye-dotting\u201d ceremony, a ritual believed to awaken the dragon and bring it to life ahead of the races.Courtesy of The Lunar Foundation<\/p>\n

The festival traces its roots back more than 2,000 years to the legend of Qu Yuan,<\/a> a Chinese poet and government official. According to the story, villagers raced out in boats to save him, beating drums to ward off fish and throwing rice into the water, a practice that evolved into modern dragon boat racing and the tradition of eating zongzi, rice dumplings wrapped in leaves.<\/p>\n

About 20 rowing teams<\/a> are expected to participate throughout the day. The festival’s program includes an opening ceremony and traditional eye-dotting ritual, cultural performances, and a midday flower ceremony honoring breast cancer survivors. <\/p>\n

This year’s festival will feature performances from:<\/p>\n

Food vendors will include Happy Lemon at The Linc<\/a>, Junbi Matcha, Kessho<\/a>, Red Dragon Bao<\/a>, Si Baby-Q,<\/a> and TLF Zongzi & Beverages. Zongzi <\/a>is the Chinese rice dumpling traditionally tied to the Dragon Boat Festival. <\/p>\n

Founded in 1999 by Amy Wong Mok, the Austin Dragon Boat Festival celebrates the traditional Chinese dragon boat holiday while highlighting Austin\u2019s Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Teams can register<\/a> to compete through April 10.<\/p>\n