Kansas City Dragon Boat Festival September 27th, 2025

GWN and the KC Pink Warriors are proud to present the inaugural Kansas City Dragon Boat Festival. The ancient sport of dragon boat blends culture and community with the excitement of competition. We are thrilled to introduce this already iconic sports city to the art of dragon boat racing. The event will transform Shawnee Mission Park into the festival grounds for this high-energy day of competition.

Located directly in the “Heart of America,” downtown Kansas City is just a short 25-minute drive from the race venue. Don’t let our Midwest Vibes fool you, Kansas City is a hotspot for arts and entertainment, culture, and award winning BBQ!

Situated within the most visited park in Kansas, the festival grounds offer something for everyone. All teams will enjoy racing and a variety of additional dry-land activities. Spectators can easily take in the action and follow the excitement while learning about the sport of dragon boat.

Are you ready to be part of the tradition? Participate in the historic first year of this can’t miss dragon boat festival!

CALLING ALL SOLO PADDLERS OR SMALL GROUPS

Are you looking to get on the water, but don't have a team? GWN is pleased to offer programs for solo paddlers or small groups through our Experience Dragon Boat Program!

Experience Dragon Boat Race Ready: A program designed for people looking for minimal commitment and just want to race. The program offers a 1-hour practice and then participation in the event.

Learn more by clicking here.

INTRODUCING EVENT GUARD

Event Guard offers your team peace of mind against the unknown.

Cancellation or Postponement: If the event is cancelled or postponed more than 12 hours in advance of the scheduled first race, receive a full refund.

Cancel for Any Reason: Cancel anytime up to 30 days in advance of the event for any reason and receive a full refund.

Event Guard for this event is $95 plus any applicable taxes.

PRICE INCEASE IN 45 DAYS

EVENT SPECS

ADBA Member

Mixed, Women's, Open, ACP, BCP, Paradragons

Inflatable PFDs Allowed

Distance: 500m

Industry Cups

BCP / ACP Ceremony

Health & Wellness Village

Food Truck Bazaar

EVENT Details

Hover over each tab for more details

View All Event Details

Pricing

Location

Schedule

Awards

Vendors

Entertainment

Parking

Volunteer

Pricing

PRICING

Category	# of Races	Before Jan 1st	Before July 1st	After July 1st
Mixed / Women's / Open / ACP / BCP / Paradragons (3 x 500m)	3	$1,095	$1,195	$1,395
Mixed / Women's / Open / ACP / BCP / Paradragons (Out-of-Town) (3 x 500m) NOTE: To qualify, teams must live 50+ miles away.	3	$995	$1,095	$1,195
Mixed / Women's / Open / ACP / BCP / Paradragons (Out-of-Country) (3 x 500m) NOTE: Out-of-Country Rate does not qualify for MLDB rewards.	3	$550	$625	$700
Youth Mixed Teams (Ages 14-18) (3 x 500m)	3	$650
Practice Session		$125/session
At least 3 teams must be registered in a division. Any division with less than 3 teams registered will be amalgamated into the next closest racing division offered. To ensure races run smoothly, smaller divisions may be combined in heats but will race independently of each other.

Prices are in USD and do not include applicable tax.

Payment Methods: We accept Visa, MasterCard, or Check.

Paying by check: You will receive a discount of $25 USD. This discount will be automatically applied during the registration process.

For more information (i.e. refund policy, multi-event discount, etc), please visit our FAQ page.

Registration Add-Ons

Each team registered at the festival will get a 20 x 20 team site (footprint, not tent rental) within the Athletes' Village. Teams have the option to bring their own tent or rent one from GWN. In addition to tents, chairs and tables are also available. For more information on rentals, please refer to the "Athletes' Village" tab below. Teams may also order additional practices, for more information please refer to the "Practice" tab below.

Location

LOCATION

Location: The event will take place at Shawnee Mission Park. The address is 7900 Renner Rd., Shawnee, Kansas.

Site Map: The 2025 Site Map will be posted 1 week prior to the race.

Park Rules: We're committed to creating a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable experience for participants and spectators. Before heading out to the races, there are some things you should know:

BBQs and other cooking equipment are not permitted on-site.

Alcoholic beverages are not permitted at the venue.

Leashed dogs are permitted on-site.

Teams are responsible for picking up their waste within their team sites. In addition to handing out waste bags during team check-in, there will be wastebaskets located throughout the Athletes' Village to maintain the venue's cleanliness. Let's all work together to keep the site clean and green.

Schedule

SCHEDULE

The 2025 Race Schedule will be posted on Monday September 22nd.

At least 3 teams must be registered in a division. Any division with less than 3 teams registered will be amalgamated into the next closest racing division offered.

To ensure races run smoothly, smaller divisions may be combined in heats but will race independently of each other.

Live Results

Get live race results and progressions on race day using your phone. Visit gwnresults.com

Race Marshaling

Marshaling for races will begin promptly half an hour before the first race of the day. Teams must be in the Marshalling area 30 minutes before their scheduled race throughout the day.

Race Day Check-In
Every Team Captain must check-in their team at Race Headquarters on race day. Registration will be open at approximately 7:00 am. All waivers must be completed prior to check-in. Please visit the FAQ section for more information on how to check in on race day.

For a speedy check-in, ensure that all waivers for your team are completed. The electronic waiver deadline is 11:59AM EST on Wednesday, September 24th. Online access to waivers will be restricted after the deadline, after which only paper copies will be accepted on Saturday morning.

Team Captain's Meeting

There will be a Team Captain's meeting on Saturday morning to discuss race day rules and answer any participants' questions, approximately 1 hour before the first race.

Awards

AWARDS

Industry Cup: First-place teams will receive a trophy and gold medals.

Consolation Division Finals: First-place teams will receive a trophy and gold medals.

Grand Finals: Third and second-place teams will receive bronze and silver medals, respectively. First-place teams will receive a trophy and gold medals.

Awards Ceremonies

Ceremonies will take place after each Industry Cup, Consolation Race, and Grand Final Race. Volunteers will gather the gold medal-winning team as they come off the water. They will be escorted directly to the stage. Bronze and silver medal-winning teams will receive their medals in the dock area.

The A Division Grand Final for Mixed, Women's, and Open ceremonies will take place after all races are completed on Saturday.

Vendors

VENDORS

Marketplace Vendors:

TBA

Artisan Village:

TBA

Health & Wellness Village:

TBA

Food Trucks / Food Vendors:

TBA

Interested in being a vendor? Email us at info@gwnevents.com to find out more.

Entertainment

Entertainment Schedule

Stay tuned for the 2025 schedule of events.

Parking

PARKING

Ample parking is available at the event site. We encourage all participants and spectators to consider call pooling to reduce the impact on the environment and park resources.

Please follow the "Dragon Boat Festival Parking" directional signage to the designated parking areas.

See below parking map for all designated parking areas for attendees.

Note: No parking allowed along the main roads in Shawnee Mission Park. Vehicles will be subjected to any parking violations. Please park in designated parking areas only.

Volunteer

VOLUNTEER

Looking to have some fun on the docks? GWN is always looking for fantastic volunteers.

As a volunteer, you'll have the opportunity to be a part of the exciting and fast-paced action that is dragon boat racing. You'll also get to experience the energy and excitement of the festival event atmosphere and be a part of a vibrant community of dragon boat enthusiasts. Volunteers will be needed to help with various tasks in ensuring the safety and smooth operations of the event through the various outlined tasks:

Boat Marshalls: Will be on the dock assisting paddlers with getting in and out of the boats. This position should be filled by people who are comfortable around the water.
Results Runners: Will be posting the results from the Timing Officials at the Registration Headquarters. This position requires neat handwriting.
Team Marshalls: Will assist the Marshalling Manager in ensuring that all teams are ready to load into boats at the correct time to maintain smooth running of the races.
Crowd Control: Will ensure one-way flow traffic from the Marshalling Area after boats are unloaded.

If you would like to volunteer, we can promise some food, drinks, a really cool shirt, and community service hours (if applicable) so please complete this Volunteer Form to join our team! To get more info or ask any questions, feel free to send us an email at volunteers@gwnevents.c o m.