FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 5, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 33
Photo courtesy of Chinese Music Ensemble
Multicultural artists to take the main stage
at Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival kickoff
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e 2021 annual Hong Kong Dragon
Boat Festival, an international multicultural
celebration and sporting event, is
returning to Flushing Meadows Corona
Park for a one-day, scaled-down event on
Saturday, Aug. 7.
While the dragon boat races may be the
main event, a host of other activities will
be available during what is the oldest, longest
and most traditional dragon boat festival
in the United States.
Th e Chinese Music Ensemble, the oldest
and only fully Chinese orchestra in
the U.S. and Americas, will kick off the
day’s entertainment on the main stage at
11 a.m. featuring younger members, some
in traditional costume, with solo performances
on traditional instruments.
Founded in 1961, the Chinese
Ensemble’s present membership of nearly
50 musicians plays practically every
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Kruk
Master storyteller Jonathan Kruk
type of Chinese music on Chinese
instruments, both ancient and modern.
In this performance, a smaller
ensemble plays a selection of their
repertoire complete with drums and
cymbals.
An opening ceremony will take
place at noon with a special welcome
and ribbon-cutting with brief
remarks from local elected offi cials,
sponsors and VIP guests offi cially
kicking off the 2021 Hong Kong
Dragon Boat Festival in New York.
In addition to the opening ceremony
entertainment, Dance China
New York, the resident touring
company at the New York Chinese
Cultural Center, will also take the
stage.
Dance China NY’s dancers
include internationally renowned
artists from performing stages and
academies throughout mainland
China, Taiwan and the U.S. Th e
dance company transports audiences
to a world of colorful myths, historical
dramas and timeless beauty,
weaving a vibrant vision of China’s
ancient indigenous folk cultures.
Noted for pieces with powerful grace
and contained elegance, Dance China NY
performs regularly throughout the U.S.
for audiences of all ages.
At 2 p.m., the award-winning, everpopular
C.A.S.Y.M. STEEL Orchestra will
return to the stage, presenting an ensemble
from the larger group of 90-plus members
between the ages of 7 to 21. Th e
group will bring the hypnotic sounds of
the islands to the festival with the playing
of steel drums.
Located in the heart of East Flatbush,
Brooklyn, C.A.S.Y.M. Steel Orchestra
Inc. aims to create a multicultural, multiethnic
program to educate young people
of Caribbean and non-Caribbean backgrounds
about the Steel Pan art form.
C.A.S.Y.M. Steel Orchestra is committed
to positively impacting the character
of our community’s youth, develop their
self-esteem and pass on the tradition of
achievement and success.
Following C.A.S.Y.M. Steel Orchestra’s
performance, Th e Shaolin Masters’ warrior
monks from the Shaolin Temple will
present an hourlong martial arts demonstration
at 3 p.m.
In the history of the Shaolin Temple,
founded in 495 A.D., generation aft er
generation of monk generals and soldiers
protected the temples from wars and riots
of society.
According to the Shaolin Temple, kung
fu is originally from Shaolin and is one
of the greatest martial arts in the world.
Wushu originated in China and it carries
the essence of the Shaolin ancestors, its
history, and has been a part of traditional
Chinese culture for over 1,500 years.
Th roughout the day, master storyteller
Jonathan Kruk will tell tales of dragons
and kings, enchanting children with fi nger
fables, stories, theater, myths, medieval
legends and the lore of the Hudson
Valley.
Kruk will also share a tale of how dragon
boat racing started.
A full-time storyteller since 1989, Kruk
has appeared at thousands of schools,
libraries, festivals and historic sites, many
in Queens.
The Chinese Music Ensemble, the oldest and only fully Chinese orchestra in the U.S. and Americas, will kick off the day’s entertainment on the main stage.
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
