The Newark Dragon Boat Festival is organised to raise vital funds for two local charities through sponsorship, teams fundraising and revenue from land-based activities. The event takes place on Sunday 17th September 2023 at Newark’s Riverside Park, 10am-5.30pm. The race itself is incredibly popular and is now fully booked with 36 Dragon Boat teams. Teams are made up of local businesses, community groups and groups of friends.
The Dragon Boat festival is the fourth joint annual event, organised in partnership between the Children’s Bereavement Centre and Beaumond House Hospice Care.
The Children’s Bereavement Centre provides free one on one support to local children and young people who experience trauma due to the terminal illness or bereavement of someone they love.
Beaumond House provides free, professional, person-centred care to people in Newark and Sherwood who have a life-limiting condition with palliative care needs. Care can be delivered in a home from home setting at the hospice or in a person’s own home.
The Newark Dragon Boat Festival is only possible due to the support from the local community. Last year 87 people signed up to volunteer at the event. There are a variety of 3-hour volunteer shifts available this year which include roles such as riverside marshalls who help prevent the general public getting to close to the edge and river spotters who watch the river for anyone falling in from the riverbank.
Rachel Wilson, Fundraising Manager at the Children’s Bereavement Centre said,
“I would like to say a huge thank you to the volunteers for offering their time to support both the Children’s Bereavement Centre and Beaumond House Hospice Care. It simply would not be possible for us to host such a fantastic occasion for the local community without our amazing team of volunteers. It’s also the largest fundraising event of the year for both charities and the funds we raise on September 17th are hugely important to ensure we both continue to be there to support local families when they need us most. It’s vital for the safety of the event that we have enough volunteers and marshalls. This is a perfect opportunity for those who like to meet new people and experience different things all whilst raising vital funds for a great charity. You’ll also get a birds eye view of all the racing.
If you haven’t volunteered before, that’s fine, to register as a volunteer please just visit the dragon boat festival website www.newarkdragonboatfestival.co.uk and fill out our short form. We will then get back in touch about how you can help us.”
For more information about volunteering please contact matt.colbourne@beaumondhouse.co.uk.
As well as the Dragon Boat Race on the river, the family fun day takes place from 10am to 5.30pm. There will be local food and drink, children’s activities, inflatables, street theatre, face-painter, the fire service, live music and dancers.
Follow #NewarkDragonBoatFestival on social media for updates.