Tag Archives: colorado dragon boat festival

Montbello High School Drum Line to perform during CDBF 2013 Opening Ceremony

It was at Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock’s suggestion that the nine members of the Montbello High School Drum Line got the chance of a lifetime — to take the second historic flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on United Airline’s new direct flight between Denver and Tokyo. The students raised money for the trip […]

Why I love the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival

It struck me towards the end of the first day of the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival that the clash of cultures I had just witnessed perfectly encapsulates why I’ve been a volunteer for this event since it was started in 2001. (Full disclosure: Last year, my partner Erin Yoshimura took on the role as executive […]

Watch the 2011 Colorado Dragon Boat Festival TV spot

Many thanks to FOX 31 weekend anchor Deborah Takahara and reporter Chris Jose, as well as the FOX 31 crew and Dragonboat Race Association of Colorado (DRACO) members who manned the dragon boat for this shoot on a hot summer day! My wife Erin is the executive director for the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival. We […]

Is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month a bad idea?

It’s May. Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. I wonder, though, if this celebration of our heritage is an idea whose time has passed. I’m glad that we have our month every year, but I’m worried that we’re emphasizing the wrong things year after year. Erin and I are starting to feel that APA Heritage […]

Phyllis Heitjan: A performer worth a listen

One of the most satisfying aspects of the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, the annual Asian community event that I’ve been involved in since its debut in 2001, is the mix of traditional Asian and Pacific Islander culture on display along with the new, Asian American values and ideas. That mix is most evident not in […]