Aug 8 – Aug 9, 2026
Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York 2026
The 36th Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival returns August 8–9, 2026 at Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park with races, food court, and cultural stage, free rain or shine.
This event has ended
The 36th Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York runs August 8–9, 2026 at Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens. Organizers call it one of the largest dragon boat festivals in the United States: races on the lake, a food court, crafts, and cultural performances. Admission is free, rain or shine.
Plan for a full park day. Meadow Lake is the race basin; stage and vendor areas sit around the shoreline. Bring sun cover, water, and a transit plan that does not depend on same-block parking. Race registration and results live on hkdbf-ny.org; spectator admission does not require a badge.
When: August 8–9, 2026
Where: Meadow Lake, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY
Confirm heat and site-map notes closer to race weekend on the official festival page. Same August 8 NYC-area window also holds denser midtown and borough food fests if you are stacking a cultural Saturday.
Our take
This is the Queens weekend you put on the calendar first if you want dragon boats without a ticket lottery. Go for the races at Meadow Lake, stay for the food court, and treat the cultural stage as a bonus rather than the reason you came. If Flushing Meadows heat is a hard no, swap for a shaded night-market date elsewhere on the New York metro calendar.
Keep exploring New York metro →
You might also like
What our readers in this scene are watching and talking about right now.
What to Watch
Why Asian American actresses are finally being allowed to be unlikeable
For years the goal was positive representation. The real arrival is messier: Asian actresses playing selfish, glamorous, manipulative, coldly ambitious women who are not there to make anyone proud. Complexity, not virtue, is the win.
Brand Watch
Can one face wear two luxury houses?
Priyanka Chopra Jonas wears Rolex and Bulgari. Lisa stacks Celine and Bulgari. Felix carries Louis Vuitton and Tiffany. Goldscene maps when double ambassador bookings are status math versus brand confusion.
