Dragon Boat Festival 
From Singapore Hotels & Singapore Lifestyle
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This festival (held between May and late June) is celebrated with boat races at East Coast Park. Colourful longboats with prows carved to represent dragons and birds crest the waves of Marina Bay, propelled by dozens of pairs of strong arms. Since 1990, the World Invitational Dragon Boat Race has been an international-class event, drawing teams from Australia, Europe and the United States (US), among others.
The festival commemorates a Chinese patriot, Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in 278 BC to protest against government corruption. Fishermen tried to rescue him but failed. Small packages of rice were then thrown into the water to distract fishes from his body. Drums and gongs were sounded to frighten away predators, and villagers decorated their boats with dragon heads and tails with the same purpose in mind. Today, the making of rice dumplings and the annual dragon boat race serve to honour Qu Yuan's memory.
