2026 Dragon Boat Festival Community Celebration Report

Bringing the Community Together Through Culture and Tradition

This year’s Dragon Boat Festival Celebration welcomed approximately 30–50 participants, including local residents, women, older adults, members and families. The event provided a wonderful opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to come together, experience traditional Chinese culture, and enjoy a warm and welcoming community atmosphere.

Preparing with Love – Behind the Scenes

Long before the event began, our dedicated volunteers gathered at a volunteer’s home to prepare all the ingredients needed for the day.

They carefully soaked glutinous rice, beans, pork and red dates, washed hundreds of bamboo leaves, and hand-wrapped both sweet and savoury rice dumplings (zongzi) in advance.

As a special surprise, the team also prepared Guangxi-style Ciba (glutinous rice cakes) for the early-arriving volunteers who helped set up the venue—a small gesture of appreciation that reflected the generosity and warmth of our community.

Creating a Welcoming Community Space

Another volunteer team worked tirelessly to transport equipment, arrange tables and chairs, decorate the workshop areas, and prepare the refreshment station.

To create a relaxing and friendly atmosphere, we served a selection of traditional herbal teas, including:

• Monk Fruit Tea
• Chrysanthemum Tea
• Goji Berry Tea
• Jasmine Tea

Many participants enjoyed chatting over a warm cup of tea, making new friends and reconnecting with familiar faces. The venue was filled with laughter, conversation and a strong sense of community belonging.

Zongzi Workshop – The Most Popular Activity

The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the Zongzi Making Workshop, which attracted participants of all ages throughout the event.

We were delighted to welcome an experienced Taiwanese instructor with over 40 years of zongzi-making experience, who has become a familiar and much-loved guest at our annual Dragon Boat Festival celebrations.

With patience and enthusiasm, she demonstrated every step of the traditional process:

• Choosing and positioning the bamboo leaves
• Folding the leaves at the correct angle
• Creating enough space for the fillings
• Preparing savoury zongzi with glutinous rice, beans and pork
• Preparing sweet zongzi with glutinous rice, beans and red dates
• Tying the dumplings securely to keep them intact during cooking

Many participants were making zongzi for the very first time. They carefully watched every movement, followed the instructor step by step, and proudly created their own rice dumplings.

As everyone joked throughout the workshop:

“If it stays together, you’ve succeeded!”

The workshop was filled with smiles, encouragement and plenty of laughter while passing on an important cultural tradition.

Fragrant Sachet Workshop – Taking Blessings Home

Another popular activity was making traditional Dragon Boat Festival herbal sachets.

Participants filled colourful fabric pouches with natural herbs, including:

• Mugwort (Ai Cao)
• Mint

Volunteers shared the traditional story behind wearing herbal sachets during the Dragon Boat Festival, symbolising good health, protection and well-being.

Many children proudly hung their handmade sachets on their school bags before leaving.

DIY Dragon Boat Festival Bracelets

Children especially loved creating their own Dragon Boat Festival-themed bracelets.

Using colourful beads and adorable cartoon zongzi charms, each child designed a unique bracelet to take home.

The finished bracelets quickly became treasured keepsakes, with many children excitedly showing them to their families.

Music, Conversation and Community Spirit

The celebration concluded with a lively community karaoke session, where participants sang familiar songs together, shared stories and enjoyed each other’s company.

The music created a joyful atmosphere that encouraged interaction between generations and cultures, helping both new and existing community members build meaningful connections.

Event Impact

Approximately 30–50 community members participated in this year’s Dragon Boat Festival celebration, including older adults, women, children, families and local residents from diverse backgrounds.

Through hands-on cultural workshops, traditional food, music and social activities, participants not only learned about the customs and history of the Dragon Boat Festival but also strengthened friendships, reduced social isolation and celebrated cultural diversity together.

The event successfully promoted community cohesion, intergenerational learning, cultural understanding and social inclusion, while providing a welcoming space where everyone could participate, learn and connect.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to all our volunteers, workshop leaders and participants for making this event such a memorable success.

We look forward to welcoming everyone back for next year’s Dragon Boat Festival celebration!

Key Outcomes

• 30–50 participants attended the event.
• Traditional Chinese cultural heritage was shared through interactive workshops.
• Strong participation from women, older adults, families and children.
• Volunteers contributed significant time to food preparation, venue setup and activity delivery.
• Participants enjoyed making zongzi, herbal sachets and children’s bracelets.
• Traditional herbal teas and homemade refreshments encouraged social interaction.
• The event strengthened community connections, cultural appreciation and intergenerational engagement.
• Positive feedback highlighted the welcoming atmosphere and hands-on learning experience.