| Welcome! | 
Dear CDBF Community-
The 12th Annual Colorado Dragon Boat Festival is just around the corner -- we're excited to see you there!
For starters, I want to remind you that parking is easy at Sports Authority Field for $5 per car with our free shuttle buses to and from Sloan's Lake.
Be sure to park and arrive at the festival in time for our Opening Ceremony, Saturday July 28 at 10 am. You'll be treated to a rare spectacle, a Double Dragon Dance featuring not one, but two 75-feet-long dragons.
Elsewhere in this newsletter, you'll find links to Marketplace and Taste of Asia vendors and meet this year's Culinary Contest judges and Stage emcees. You'll also find the route map for the inaugural Dragon 5K Run/Walk, and the exciting lineup at the reboot of the Dragonland area, which isn't just for kids this year with the addition of the Denver Zoo and Dragon Balls. We're also thrilled with the return of the imaginAsian Art Collaboration, which celebrates the visual arts, and happy to announce this year's Non-Profit Partners, organizations who'll benefit from your support of the festival.
And finally, we're still looking for volunteers to help us throw this wonderful party. Won't you join us?
Until next week,
Erin Yoshimura
Executive Director
www.cdbf.org
FYI: there are only 9 days until the festival!
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| Make it easy: Park at Sports Authority Field |
 Help the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival create a smaller carbon footprint and at the same time, and find hassle-free parking.
Head instead for Sports Authority Field at Mile High for $5 per vehicle, and take the free shuttle buses to and from the festival.
They'll run every few minutes all weekend long.
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| Rare Double Dragon Dance for Opening Ceremony! |
This is not only our 12th year and our first full cycle of the Chinese Zodiac - this is also the Year of the Dragon, or the Water Dragon, to be exact. To acknowledge this auspicious sign, CDBF is proud to announce that this year's Opening Ceremony held from 10am-noon on Sat. July 28 will feature a rare treat: Two 75-feet-long dragons performing an intricate, intertwined dance.
The Boulder-based Shaolin Hung Mei Kung Fu Academy (SHMKF) has performed the Dragon Dance (and Lion Dances and kung fu demonstrations) every year at CDBF since the first year. SHMKF's Shifu (Master) Howie Solow is one of the founders of the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival.
Read more about the Double Dragon Dance, and plan on being there for this year's very special Opening Ceremony.
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Plan your shopping in the Marketplace
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 From the very first year, part of the fun of attending the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival has been the chance to shop in the Asian Marketplace for arts, crafts gifts, toys and clothing.
Shopping in the CDBF Marketplace is like browsing a multicultural bazaar halfway around the world!
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Plan your dining at Taste of Asia
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One of the ongoing highlights of each year's Colorado Dragon Boat Festival has been the opportunity to eat your way across Asia and the Pacific Islands - bite by bite, and without leaving Denver.
Over the years, Taste of Asia has featured vendors serving up the cuisines of China, Korea, Vietnam, Philippines, India, Japan, Hawai'i, Laos, Thailand and oh yes, the good ol' USA.
For 2012, we've added a second Taste of Asia area, so we now feature more culinary choices with more space and less crowds!
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Meet the 2012 Culinary Contest judges
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 Each year we've invited celebrity judges to sample the cuisine available at the Taste of Asia and award the best taste sensations in our Culinary Contest.
It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. And the three judges who have unselfishly stepped to the plate this year are Jeff Osaka (shown here), the owner and chef of twelve restaurant; Lori Midson, the Cafe Society and food editor of Westword; and Penny Parker, On the Town columnist for Blacktie-Colorado.
They'll go through the two Taste of Asia food courts and choose the winners and runners-up for Best Entree, Best Dessert and Best Overall. The winners will be announced around 3 pm Saturday on the Main Performance Stage.
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| Meet the 2012 Stage Emcees |
 Since the fist year, the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival has featured Asian Americans who work in media to serve as emcees on the Main Performing Arts Stage. They're role models, especially for young Asian Americans, of career choices that might be outside of the typical stereotype of engineers and doctors.
For 2012, we welcome some new faces to the list of emcees, including Jacki Jing of KWGN (shown here) and Tak Landrock of KMGH.
We're also introducing Donna Hansen and Charlee Chiv who are local actors, to emcee on the new Band Stage.
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| Dragon 5K Run/Walk Map |
 If you haven't signed up yet for our inaugural Dragon 5K Run/Walk, there's still time.
Meanwhile, check out the route map and think about the great view you'll have of the festival getting geared up for Sunday, while you're making your way around Sloan's Lake.
And don't forget, we want you to wear dragon masks and costumes to make this the most fun 5K run/walk ever!
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| Dragonland has more fun for kids ... of all ages |
 Dragonland, CDBF's popular children's area, is getting a reboot for the Year of the Dragon!
For 2012, we're introducing a new performing arts stage in Dragonland where children will be able to learn hip-hop moves from Hype 303, Chinese traditional dances from Christina Yeh Dance Studio, Bollywood style grooves from Mudra Dance Studio and much more for a kids dance party! In addition, traditional Asian stories will be shared along with mixed martial art demonstrations.
Dragonland is also introducing Dragon Water Balls. These are transparent hollow balls that allow you to walk, jump, flip, crawl, roll or just float on both water and land without getting wet.
Read more about the 2012 edition of Dragonland and you may end up there eve if you don't have kids!
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Our volunteer managers need YOU!
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 The Colorado Dragon Boat Festival depends each year on about 300 volunteers -- won't you join us?
We still have areas of the festival where we need more volunteers, especially on Sunday.
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| Support CDBF, support our Non-Profit Partners | 
The Colorado Dragon Boat Festival's Non-Profit Partner (NPP) program invites non-profit organizations representing a variety of missions and causes to earn money for their organization by supplying volunteers to work a designated booth selling festival items.
So when you purchase a drink at one of our Pepsi booths, buy a commemorative poster or t-shirt, or enjoy refreshments in the Beer Garden, you're not just helping the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival ensure its future. You're supporting one of these non-profit organizations' work in our community.
Read about CDBF's 2012 Non-Profit Partners.
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| imaginAsian Art Collaboration returns |
The imaginAsian Art Collaboration is back this year and will feature young local Asian American artists showing their talent drawing manga (Japanese comics) characters as well as fine art.
In addition, Squid Works Comic Creator Cooperative will host comic and comic-art based projects! The Squid Works Comic Creator Cooperative is a rag-tag group of Colorado-based independent cartoonists, artists and writers who work in a variety of styles.
Visit imaginAsian and you'll be able to interact with the artists and bring out your creative muse with these fun activities.
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| Denver County Cultural Council |
 Denver City Council is currently looking to fill two open positions on the Denver County Cultural Council.
The Denver County Cultural Council (DCCC) is a board authorized by the State and appointed by Denver City Council to distribute Scientific & Cultural Facilities District Tier III revenues to science and cultural organizations in Denver. Individuals with active community involvement at the neighborhood level and professional, volunteer or advocatory experience in an art, cultural, scientific or historical organization are encouraged to apply.
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Save Water!
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Here's an important public service message from Denver Water, one of our sponsors:
A dry winter across Colorado has led to low snowpack and mountain streamflows are expected to be well below normal.
Denver Water has declared a Stage 1 drought, which is the first response to drought conditions. The goal of this drought declaration is to preserve reservoir storage going into 2013, in case next year's snowpack is also below normal.
Now, more than ever, customers are asked to use only what they need - especially when watering outdoors. Here are some tips to use less water this summer.
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Upcoming Asian Community Events
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CDBF has the most complete and updated listings of local Asian and Asian American events on our Community Calendar.
If you don't see an event here in the newsletter, be sure to check our Calendar online -- it's updated as we receive announcements. Submit your Asian community event information with a brief description to calendar@cdbf.org .
ONGOING
APDC needs food donations for refugee communities
The APDC is collecting food items donations for refugee clients (especially at their behavioral health clinic) who have been struggling to get by. These clients include people from the Bhutanese and Burmese communities. They have been running out of food for their families and are in HUGE need of food donations. Any items such as rice, oil, ramen noodles, soy sauce, canned fish, canned fruit or vegetables will be extremely helpful for the families. Donations can be dropped off at either APDC office, or, for questions or inquiries, please call either office:
York office - 1825 York St. Denver, CO | 303.393.0304
Elmira Office - 1544 Elmira St. Aurora, CO 80010 | 303.365.2959 x 102
Connecting the Pieces: Dialogues on the Amache Archaeology Collection
When: May 21 - July 20, M-F 9 am-4 pm
Where: DU Museum of Anthropology, Room 102 Sturm Hall, 2000 E. Asbury Ave, Denver CO 80208
Cost: Free
The University of Denver's Museum of Anthropology presents the collaborative work of the DU undergraduate students and community members, Connecting the Pieces: Dialogues on the Amache Archaeology Collection. This exhibit showcases objects found at Camp Amache, the Japanese American internment camp near Granada, Colorado. For more information, contact 303.871.2688 or visit
http://www.du.edu/ahss/schools/anthropology/museum/index.html
The Artwork of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani
When: July 7-20, T-F 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-2pm
Where: VSA Colorado / Access Gallery, 909 Santa Fe Drive, Denver CO 80204
Cost: Free
Born in California in 1920, Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani then moved to Hiroshima, Japan, at the age of four. He later returned to the US during World War II, where he was sent with thousands of other Japanese Americans to an internment camp in California. After the war, Jimmy worked in New York City, but eventually fell into homelessness. This exhibit speaks for Jimmy's journey through these events, as well as his struggle through losing family and friends to Japanese internment camps and the bombing of Hiroshima. Drawing on his training in traditional Japanese brush painting, his works feature one of his favorite subjects-cats-drawn in ballpoint pen and colored pencils. Please contact the Denver Access Gallery at 303.777.0797 for more information.
JULY
24th JFA/JASC Annual Charity Golf Tournament
When: Mon. July 23, 12:15-9:00 pm
Where: Colorado National Golf Club, 2700 Vista Parkway Erie, Colorado 80516
Cost: Tournament & dinner - $150 before June 15, $160 after June 15; Dinner reception only - $40
In support of Japanese education programs, the Japanese Firms Association of Colorado and the Japan America Society of Colorado present their annual charity golf tournament. Participants are invited to play at the exclusive course of the University of Colorado's golf teams with challenging holes and stunning mountain views. Registration begins at 12:15 pm until 1:00 pm, followed by a shotgun start at 1:30 pm. This event also includes a sushi and steak dinner and award reception from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. For registration and more information, visit http://www.jascolorado.org/2012SponsorshipPacket.pdf or contact info@jascolorado.org / 303.592.5364.
12th Annual Colorado Dragon Boat Festival
When: Sat. July 28 10 am-7 pm, Sun. July 29 10 am-5 pm
Where: Sloan's Lake Park, 25th & Sheridan (Parking at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, $5 with free shuttle bus to festival)
Cost: FREE
The Colorado Dragon Boat Festival celebrates the Year of the Dragon with the largest Asian community cultural event between Chicago and the West Coast. Enjoy two days of performances including an all-new Band Stage, a Marketplace for gifts and Taste of Asia food court, educational exhibits and demonstrations about Vietnam and mainland China, Dragonland area for kids, and the exciting 2,000-year-old sport of Dragon Boat Racing! Parking at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, $5 per car with free shuttle buses to and from the festival.www.cdbf.org for more information.
AUGUST
Fujiyoshida-Colorado Springs Fire Festival
When: Sat. August 4, Noon-11 pm
Where: America the Beautiful Park, 126 Cimino Drive, Colorado Springs CO
Cost: Free
For their Golden Anniversary, Colorado Springs and its sister city of Fujiyoshida will be celebrating their 50 years of friendship with the annual Everybody Welcome Festival and Fire Celebration. During the day, there will be food, crafts, music, and dancing for the whole family, as well as a taiko workshop! At 8 pm, the Fujisan Kaen Taiko group will shake up the festival and lead it into the evening. To honor nature and the friendship between Colorado Springs and Fuijyoshida, over 80 Taimatsu or pyres, will be lit, bringing the Fire Celebration, a 500 year old tradition, to life. Visit www.csfirefestival.org and www.cospdiversityforum.org or contact 719.331.7588 for more information!
Fujisan Kaen Taiko Concert
When: Sun. August 5, 2 pm
Where: Colorado College, Armstrong Hall, 14 E Cache La Poudre, Colorado Springs CO 80903
Cost: Free, but must pick up tickets
Please join the Taiko Society of Colorado Springs in welcoming and supporting the Fujisan Kaen Taiko Drummers in an exciting special performance! This 25 member Taiko group comes from Fujiyoshida, Japan to celebrate and honor the 50th year of friendship between Fujiyoshida and its sister city, Colorado Springs. For more information about tickets and this event, please visit http://www.coloradocollege.edu/events/2012-08-05-japanese-taiko-drum-concert or contact Colorado College's Worner Student Center at 719.389.6607.
Boulder Asian Aloha Festival When: Sat.-Sun. August 11-12, 2 pm Where:1300-1400 Blocks of Pearl Street, Boulder Cost: Free It's Destination Pacific! The Boulder Asian Pacific Alliance, organizers of the Boulder Asian Festival, and Halau Hula o na Mauna Pohaku, organizers of the Colorado Aloha Festival are proud to announce their partnership in presenting the Colorado Asian Aloha Festival this summer. The festival will offer attendees a chance to experience the diverse cultures of Asia, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. The festival expects over 70 vendors and 50 performers on 2 separate stages. A Community Tent will also bring an educational component to the festival by providing language and cultural lessons as well as family friendly activities. www.coloradoalohafest.com, www.bapaweb.org
An Epic Journey: Aurora Asian/Pacific Communities
When: August 14-November 4, T-F 9am-4pm, Sat-Sun 11am-4pm
Where: Aurora History Museum, 15051 E Alameda Parkway, Aurora CO 80012
Cost: Free
The Aurora Asian/Pacific Community Partnership presents an exhibit highlighting the history and diversity of its Asian/Pacific communities with stories shared through cultural objects, photographs, and personal interviews. For more information, please contact admin@auoraasian.org or 303.326.8695.
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| About the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival |  Your Weekend Passport to Asia and the Pacific- Dragon Boat Races. Cultural Education. Performing Arts. Food. Marketplace.
About CDBF
Founded in 2001 to celebrate Colorado's diverse Asian Pacific American (APA) communities, the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival (CDBF), a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, has become the region's fastest growing, family-friendly summer festival. CDBF offers festival-goers the opportunity to explore APA culture through performances, educational programs, arts and crafts, shopping, dining and the exciting athletic competition of dragon boat racing.
Contact Information: 11049 West 44th Avenue Suite 110 Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 T: 303-953-7277 F: 303-953-7278 Toll-free: 877.716.BOAT (2628)
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2012 SPONSORS COMMUNTY PARTNER:
ASSOCIATE SPONSORS: MillerCoors Toyota Denver Zoo
ASSOCIATE MEDIA SPONSORS:
The Denver Post
SUPPORTING SPONSORS:Pepsi
CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS:
EXHIBITING/PATRON: Coast2Coast / Direct TV Kaiser Permanente Yakult BGV Marketing Yelp |
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