Dragon Boat Festival 2001, an annual pan-Asian sports and cultural event
Sunday, August 19, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Where: Sloan Lake, near 25th Ave. and Sheridan Blvd.
NEW HOTLINE # 303-722-6852, or visit www.asiaXpress.com

NOTE: Due to limited parking at Sloan Lake, RTD will be operating shuttle buses throughout the day at 10-minute intervals, from the Park 'N Ride lot at Bank One at Lakeside Mall, I-70 and Harlan St. To encourage parking at the Park 'N Ride, festival goers who ride the shuttle will be offered coupons for gifts at the festival.

A PAN-ASIAN CELEBRATION [back to top]

One of the unique features about the Dragon Boat Festival is that the event is a pan-Asian collaboration. The festival brings together the many vital Asian communities that make up Denver's rich and diverse cultural heritage, from Chinese and Korean to Japanese, Indian, Thai, Filipino, Polynesian and more.

If you look at the list of participating organizations in this program, you will see individual communities represented (Chinese American Council of Colorado, Filipino American Community of Colorado, Hmong Women Eductaional Association of Colorado, Polynesia/Pacifica Foundation of Colorado, etc.) but you will also see such organizations as the Asian Roundtable of Colorado, Aurora Asian Pacific American Community Partnership (the folks who bring us the excellent Asian Film Festival every year), Colorado Asian Student Alliance, Asian Pacific Akerican Association for Advancement at AT&T, Coors Asian Network, Colorado Asian Professional Network and Asian Pacific Development Center. These "umbrella" organizations serve to bridge the multi-ethnic cultures of Asia, and bring people together to work for common goals.

The racing teams, vendors and entertainers performing throughout the day, as well as the steering committee and many volunteers that made the event possible, also come fro a rainbow of Asian backgrounds.

As the Denver metro area becomes increasingly diverse, the area's Asian communities will work together to celebrate our differences, and everything that we share in common. That is the spirit of Dragon Boat Festival 2001 - a spirit we hope to continue for many years to come.

THE DENVER BUDDHIST CULTURAL SOCIETY [back to top]

The "Denver Buddhist Cultural Society" is one of the many Temples throughout the world under Fo Kuang Shan, the original Temple of the Buddha's Light International Association. It is the largest Buddhist organization in the world. The Venerable Master Hsing Yun, founding president of Buddha's Light International Association and the International Buddhist Progress Society, has been challenged by a vision and propelled by a vow to "Let the Buddha's Light shine over three thousand realms. Let the water of Dharma flow through the five continents." Buddhism is living with compassion, universal benevolence, and the wisdom to distinguish right from wrong. The IBPS and BLIA makes no distinctions according to race, culture, or country in the world to fully express the spirit of the Buddha's teachings and a global perspective in promoting world peace.

FESTIVAL EMCEES [back to top]

Whei Wong brings an energetic and versatile style to reporting for FOX-31 News. She even venture into Colorado's colorful history while exploring the Rocky Mountain region in her "Whei Out West" reports. She joined FOX-31 News from Fox affiliate WTIC-TV in Hartford, CT where she served as primetime newscast reporter. Her news-series work received an Emmy nomination. Previously, she was weekend sports anchor, live show host, news and sports reporter for WJCL-TV (ABC) and WTGS-TV (FOX) in Savannah, GA, and held other . Whei is a member of the Asian American Journalist Association.

Gil Asakawa is the director of editorial for TamTam.com. He is a former music editor for Westword and a freelance writer who has written for 5280 Magazine, Rolling Stone, Rocky Mountain News and many other publications. He also writes a weekly column from a Japanese American perspective called The Nikkei View, which is published in the Rocky Mountain Jiho and online at nikkeiview.com. He is a member of the Japanese American Citizens League, the Japan America Society and the Manjiro Society.

Lillie Ben is active as a volunteer in the Denver metro community. She serves on the board of directors for the Asian Pacific Development Center, the Pinery Home Owners' Association in Parker, and as a committee member for the Auraria Higher Education Center in Denver. She also volunteers as a Loan Executive for the United Way. She is a licensed agent through Mutual of Omaha. She is currently undergoing higher education studies for the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designations.