Travelsmartplanet

Now in its 18th year, the Rhode Island Chinese Dragon Boat Races & Taiwan Day Festival is an extraordinary event for the whole family to enjoy.  Join the thousands of people who attend each year for exciting competition, family-fun, and a great opportunity to learn more about Chinese culture.

Racers continue to use the fiberglass Taiwanese-style dragon boats gifted to them from the Republic of China (Taiwan)  and incorporate the skill of flag-catching in each race.

The course length is 1,000 feet long up the Pawtucket River, with three boats racing at a time. A unique element to the races is the larger Taiwanese-style dragon boats, wood paddles, and the flag-catching in each race. If the flag is missed a penalty is added to their time.

Sanctioned by the Eastern Regional Dragon Boat Association, the RI Chinese Dragon Boat Races consist of two divisions: the Mixed Division, which requires a minimum of 6 female paddlers, and the Open Division that has no gender restrictions.

In addition to the exciting boat races, under the giant tent you will find Taiwan Day festivities with some top notch entertainment including  cultural performances, many art & crafts tables, and the ever-popular dumpling eating contest. The festival also has a great selection of vendors, interactive activities, and food trucks.

Don’t miss the great entertainment throughout the day including:

Don’t miss one of the Lowcountry’s signature events, the annual DragonBoat Beaufort Race Day. The exciting dragon boat races will take place Saturday, June 24, 2017 at at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park on the river from 8-4.

Witness the fierce competition and camaraderie as teams of paddlers race on the Beaufort river to win trophies and raise money for local cancer patients. Among the fun and festivities will be an opening ceremony, three heats of races, the moving Carnation Ceremony for cancer survivors and their families and the closing medal ceremony.

DragonBoat Race Day will include many local businesses, community groups and teams of friends and family racing against each other. The mixed Cancer Survivor Division will be the showcase for the heroes and heroines, honoring the spirit of DragonBoat Race Day.
Twenty paddlers sitting side-by-side in a dragon-headed 42 foot-long vessel, paddling furiously to the beat of an emphatic drummer. The goal: physical wellness and psychological well-being through this thrilling, team-oriented support program that even offers opportunities to travel to competitions worldwide.

There will be 35 teams each racing three times. There will be two divisions – Mixed Community and Cancer Survivor teams. All teams race together. Cancer Survivor teams must have at least 8 cancer survivors in the boat during each race. After the first and second heats, teams will be placed in racing categories based upon their time; the third heat will decide the medals. Cancer Survivor placings decided by accumulating the two best times from each team. Gold, Silver and Bronze medals will be awarded for the top three finishers in each racing categories during the Awards Ceremony at the end of the day.

Location: Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, downtown on the Beaufort River,  SC
Date: Sat, June 24, 2017
Time: 8am – 4pm
Tel: 843-473-4477
dragonboat-raceday.com
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: southcarolinalowcountry.com

This is more than just a mud run it’s the biggest, baddest, muddiest party in town. This year’s  MudFest race will be 5 miles or 5 kilometers of mud and obstacles, each year is bigger and better, runners will face some new challenges, more surprises, twists, turns and of course more MUD than ever.

The JCB MudFest is designed for and geared toward having fun, getting muddy, and getting your heartbeat up. There will be some serious mud pits to slosh through, some other man-made, and natural obstacles to conquer. Parts of the lake may be over 6 feet deep. There will be ropes and other tricky ways to get across and there’s always ways to go around any obstacle including the lake.

The Mud Run race starts in waves. Approximately 25 teams go at a time, with a 3 minute lag between each wave. Parking is free so come out and support the participants and the cause. When you’re running with an extra 10 pounds of mud on your shoes it’s appreciated to have people cheering you on from the sidelines.

The Post Race Party begins as soon as the first teams finish in the Party Pit, where you can watch the finish and enjoy food and drinks that are included for race participants as part of the registration fee. If you’re planning on just watching all of the action, you can partake in the frosty beverages and delectable food for a $10 donation to The Lady Bamford Center.

Highlights include: Each participant receives a custom t-shirt, Over 30+ epic obstacles, access into the Party Pit, professional race photos, live chip timed results, Free Beer for those 21+, overall & age division awards, live music following the event, Free post-race food and drink.

Schedule:  (Subject to Change)
6:30AM: Packet Pickup & Late Registration Opens
7:15AM: Costume Contest @ JCB Events Trailer
7:50AM: Kiddie Muddobbers Mud Run @ Finish line (FREE)
8:00AM-8:20AM: Mudfest 5k & 5 Mile Competitive Waves #1-#5 Start (5 minute increments)
8:25AM-9:30AM: Mudfest 5k & 5 Mile Recreational Waves #6-#19 Start (5 minute increments)
8:05AM: Party Pit Music Starts
8:30AM: Food and Beverage Vendors Open
12:00PM: Awards Ceremony

Location: JCB North American Headquarters, 2000 Bamford Blvd, Pooler, GA 31322
Date: Sat, June 17, 2017
Hours: 7:15am – 12:30pm
Tel: 912-447-2000
jcbmudfest.com
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitsavannah.com

General William C. Lee Airborne Museum – This house was the home of the “Father of the Army Airborne”, so the museum charts his personal life as well as the growth of Army 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions. Exhibits include photographs, videotape, World War II memorabilia, historical documents and paratrooper equipment and uniforms.

General Lee was a relentless lobbyist to make the airborne a formidable part of our military might.

At tank school in Versailles, France in the ‘30’s he observed German military airborne experiments. He saw the promise of this, and started with test platoons doing parachute jumps (practiced from parachute towers in Hightstown, NJ).

By August 1942, in 26 months, he shepherded the airborne from a test platoon of 50 men to 2 divisions of 8,300 men, and was in charge of the sky: parachutes, air landing battalions and eventually the glider units.

He suffered a major heart attack on the eve of D-Day, and missed his chance to lead it. You have probably heard of his famous saying “the 101st has no history, but it has a rendezvous with destiny”.

Location: General William C. Lee Airborne Museum, 209 West Divine St., Dunn 28334
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30-4:30, Sat 11-4 (Closed Sundays and Holidays)
Tel: 910-892-1947
generalleeairbornemuseum.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: dunntourism.org

This year marks the 55th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The competitive 24-hour continuous sports car race executed on the track’s 3.56-mile road course is a perfect battle between machine, driver and time. This race inaugurates the three weeks of race action for Budweiser Speedweeks with great racing, carnivals, car show and live bands and other entertainment.

Since 1962, racing legends from around the world have come to Daytona to compete in a grueling 24-hour marathon. The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona is infamously relentless on both driver and machine as sleep-deprived crews perform mechanical phenomenons. From sunrise to sunset, fans will watch drivers compete against a brigade of  adversaries that span the auto racing universe in the first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race of the season.

Each team is comprised of four drivers and no drivers are allowed to be in a car for more than four hours during a six-hour time frame. However, each driver must drive for at least four hours and 30 minutes throughout the 24-hour period. Crew chiefs and crew members will also rotate throughout the event.

When the 24-hour time span concludes, the team that has wheeled the most miles in each class of cars – Prototype, Prototype Challenge, GT Daytona, GT Le Mans – will win their respective divisions. The race begins at 2:40 pm on Saturday, Jan 28 and concludes on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 2:40 pm, giving it the name “24 Hours of Daytona.”

For Schedule and Tickets: daytonainternationalspeedway.com/Events/2017/Rolex-24-At-DAYTONA/Schedule.aspx
Photo Credit:  Barberstock

Location: Daytona International Speedway, 1801 W. International Speedway Blvd. Daytona Beach, FL 32118
Date: Sat, Jan 28 – Sun,  Jan 29, 2017
Time:  Jan 28th -6:30AM Fanzone Opens – Jan 29th 2:40PM FINISH – 55th Rolex 24
Tel: 386-253-7223
daytonainternationalspeedway.com
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: daytonabeach.com

Pumpkins have many uses…as jack-o’-lanterns ,  for baking muffins or pies and believe it or not as a projectile at the signature pumpkin-launching event held each year since 1986. The World Championship Punkin Chunkin is where “backyard engineers” test the limits of pumpkin physics,  fueling innovative engineering and science-based ideas all through a three-day festival in Bridgeville, drawing thousands of visitors to the area and is aired on the Discovery Channel every Thanksiving.

Teams compete in divisions such as air cannon, centrifugal, catapult, human power, trebuchet, theatrical and torsion. The competition is divided into three classes: Adult (18 and older), Youth (11 to 17) and Youth (under age 10).

Each category shoots 1 of their 3 competition shots each day. The firing of machines starts at 8am each day and continues until dusk. There will be a Cookin’ contest,  a Punkin Chunkin Pageant, an Outlaw Punkin Chunkin Chili Cookin Competition and  awards ceremony, also local bands will provide live music on stage throughout the 3 days of the festivities.

Location: The Woodlands, 18598 Rd 591, Bridgeville, DE 19933
Date: Nov 4- 6, 2016
Time: Gates open at 7am until dusk
punkinchunkin.com