​The Children's Coalition Dragon Boat Festival will not return in 2021. Due to the risks associated with COVID-19 and spreading it to others, specifically with the CDC guidelines of not being within 6 feet of others for a cumulative total of 15 minutes in a 24-hour period, we have made the decision to cancel the event again this year. Your health and safety continue to be our priority, and we encourage everyone to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools we have available — wearing masks, staying at least 6 feet from people who do not live with you, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, washing your hands frequently, and getting vaccinated.

This fun, family-friendly event will be sorely missed. Not only has Dragon Boat been an important fundraising endeavor for the Children’s Coalition, but it was a great time for our community to gather outdoors and cheer on teams of local schools and businesses that competed for the fastest time.
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Dragon Boat has supported underfunded programs like Signs of Suicide, Nurturing Fatherhood, Healthy Living, and Youth Development as well as our Children's Coalition Family Garden.​ In this challenging year, we still need your support. If you are able, please click below to learn how you can give to the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana. 

We hope to host the Dragon Boat Festival in 2022 and see you there!

With Knight's Law Firm officially retired, the Dragon Boat competition is heating up! Many team captains showed up for the first meeting today to learn more about the Dragon Boat Festival and their role as a team captain. Sarah Floyd and Jan Daniels informed team captains of all the schools participating, various award given, additional community involvement opportunities, the different festival events, what the next steps look like, and other important information. To learn more about the Dragon Boat Festival, click on the button below. 

Stay tuned as we announce teams who will compete in the 2020 Children's Coalition Dragon Boat Festival! 

Images by Nicolas Galindo/The News-Star

MONROE, La. (KNOE 8 NEWS) - If you saw dragons in Bayou DeSiard over the weekend, most likely 
you weren't simply imagining mythical creatures going for a swim... You were witnessing this year's Dragon Boat Festival.
More than 400 people rowed in about 20 boats all the way across the bayou.
The executive director of the Children's Coalition says it's all about encouraging families to be healthy and go outside.
"It goes to the Children's Coalition, what it does is we serve the 12 parishes of northeast Louisiana, so we do things that really help children zero to eighteen and their families thrive so so we start with the family resources center by bringing families back together," says Executive Director Lynn Clark.
Anyone looking to participate next year can either join a team individually or sign a group up to compete.