The 26th Annual Austin Dragon Boat Festival Made History
April 25, 2026 | Festival Beach, Lady Bird Lake | Free to the Public
THE MILESTONE
On April 23, 2026, the Austin City Council voted unanimously to make the Austin Dragon Boat Festival a permanent City co-sponsored event. See a short clip of the City Council meeting here.
ADBF is now the first Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) cultural event to receive city co-sponsorship in Austin’s history.
Led by Mayor Pro-Tem Chito Vela and co-sponsored by Council Members José Velásquez, Ryan Alter, Krista Laine, and Zohaib “Zo” Qadri, the resolution waives city fees annually and formalizes a co-sponsorship agreement between the City of Austin and The Lunar Foundation.
BY THE NUMBERS
26 Dragon Boat Teams
~650 Athletes
The most in ADBF History!
163 AANHPI artists and culinary entrepreneurs featured
145 performers
12 visual artists
6 culinary artist food businesses
An estimated 3,000 attendees
joined us at Festival Beach, based on event-day observations and vendor, transaction, and mobility data.
Placer.ai, provided by Austin Parks Foundation, independently verified 1,698 mobile device users who stayed 10+ minutes. This figure does not account for children, attendees without smartphones, or anyone with location services turned off.
121-minute average visitor dwell time
People came and stayed
62,000+ social media views
Across Instagram and Facebook, with zero paid advertising
20,000 Google search impressions
32 pieces of media coverage
4.8M estimated views across a 558M combined audience reach
WHO SHOWED UP
Congressman Lloyd Doggett, Mayor Kirk Watson, Mayor Pro-Tem Chito Vela, and Council Members Ryan Alter, Krista Lane, Mike Siegel, Marc Duchen, Vanessa Fuentes attended the festival. Mayor Pro-Tem Vela delivered the city proclamation.
Director General Yvonne Hsiao and Deputy Director Greg Lee from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston (TECO-Houston) were on hand to receive the Lone Star Dragons as they prepare to represent Texas and the United States at the 15th IDBF Club Crew World Championships in Taiwan.
Dragon boat teams traveled from across Texas and beyond. Visitors came from Houston, San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth, and out of state including Washington, Michigan, and Colorado. The Austin Sports Commission welcomed arriving visitors and athletes with a digital welcome sign on the Austin Airport baggage claim screens.
ON THE WATER
26 teams and ~650 athletes hit Lady Bird Lake for a full day of competitive dragon boat racing, the most in the festival’s 26-year history. The field included 5 competitive clubs, 9 corporate teams, 5 community teams, and 3 breast cancer survivor (BCS) teams.
93.3% of teams from 2025 returned, the highest retention rate in ADBF history. Six organizations competed for the first time, and teams traveled from across Texas and the Pacific Northwest.
The day closed with a special send-off for the Lone Star Dragons, Texas’s elite dragon boat team heading to the World Championships in Taiwan. Made up of top paddlers from Austin, Houston, and across the state, they earned their place on the world stage after winning the 2023 U.S. Dragon Boat Federation National Championship and competing at the 2024 World Championships in Italy.
ON THE STAGE
14 AANHPI cultural performance groups brought 145 performers to the Main Stage, spanning Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Hawaiian, Okinawan, and Indian traditions.
Austin Taiko | Texas Dragon/Lion Dance Team | Austin Filipino Cultural Dance Troupe | Summit Lion-Dragon Dance Team | Austin Folk Dance and Music Group | UriKarak Dance Group | Kathak Rhythms and SIPM | Lilly Hosanna Dance | Hawaiian Kona Isle | The Love of China Dance School | iDance Performing Arts Group | TX Wushu | Okinawa Dance School | Austin Japanese Minyo Dance Group
The festival opened with the Eye Dotting Ceremony, a 2,000-year-old tradition where a dignitary paints the eyes of the dragon boats, symbolically awakening the dragons and giving them the spirit and sight to race.
The Drum Circle of the Dragon Spirit brought the community together in a unifying and healing ceremony honoring breast cancer survivors and all cancer thrivers.
ART AND FOOD
The outdoor art gallery featured 12 local AANHPI artists, with original artwork, framed pieces, and prints available for purchase. Gallery sales were strong all day.
Eddie Wong | Meah Lin | Ngan Hoang | Girlyne White | Tony Wu | Jasmine Chock | Jeckoy Bondoc | Lisa Crawford | TK Hwang | Ziesook You | Beibei Champagne | Weila Art
Six AANHPI culinary artist food businesses served the festival, and almost every one sold out before the day was done.
Red Dragon Bao | Junbi Matcha | Si Baby-Q | Happy Lemon | Ming Da’s Cambodian Kitchen | Kessho
Note for artists and culinary artists interested in participating in The Lunar Foundation markets: We’re always looking for AANHPI artists and food businesses to be part of TLF programming. Our next event is the 3rd annual NightMarket.fun.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
ADBF 2026 directly supported 163 AANHPI artists and culinary entrepreneurs at a single free, public event.
The Fold for Good volunteer event brought the community together to handcraft 600+ zongzi (traditional Chinese rice dumplings), with sales at the festival supporting a donation to the Central Texas Food Bank.
The festival also hosted brand activations from Arca Continental Coca-Cola Southwest (Topo Chico Lounge), Central Health, H-E-B (Kids Activity), Munchie Pals, Sendero Health Plans, and Texas State Parks.
CapMetro contributed 358 digital 1-day rail passes, with 104 redeemed by attendees using public transit to reach the festival.
IN THE PRESS
Juice Consulting secured 32 pieces of media coverage across online, broadcast, print, and social platforms, reaching a combined audience of 558 million with an estimated 4.8 million lifetime views.
Featured coverage included KXAN Austin, FOX 7 Austin, CBS Austin, CultureMap Austin, Hoodline, Community Impact, Austin Chronicle, Do512, Modern Luxury, Tribeza, MSN, Yahoo News, Patch, Spectrum News, Round the Rock, and more.
OUR PARTNERS AND SPONSORS
ADBF 2026 was the first year in the festival’s 26-year history to have corporate event sponsorship.
Supporting Sponsors
Community Partners
Hotel Partners
Community Health Partner
Official Beneficiary
PR Partner
Organized by The Lunar Foundation and the Asian American Cultural Center. Supported in part by an Elevate Grant from Austin Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment (AACME).
LOOKING AHEAD
The 27th Annual Austin Dragon Boat Festival is coming in 2027, and we’re just getting started.
City officials have voiced support for moving the festival to Auditorium Shores, expanding capacity and visibility on Lady Bird Lake. The Lunar Foundation is also aligned with the American Dragon Boat Association’s nationwide push for youth dragon boat teams, and is exploring a future National Championship bid for Austin.
Want to race? Want to perform? Want to show your art or serve your food? Want to sponsor?
Photography by Peter Yang and MWC Photography.