Dragon Boat Race & Fun Day! – Free Entry To Woking & Sam Beare Hospices Family Fun Event At Goldsworth Park
Free Entry To Dragon Boat Race and Fun Day at Goldsworth Park Lake!
Twelve teams are limbering up their rowing arms in a bid to be crowned Dragon Boat champions at Woking & Sam Beare Hospices’ fourth annual Dragon Boat Race and Fun Day on Sunday 25 June, 10am to 4pm at Goldsworth Park Lake.
Sponsored by Trident Honda, the event will see teams of 12-20 people don some imaginative fancy dress outfits and take the plunge to race across the lake in special boats, competing against the clock and each other to win a place in the final race of the day.
The event will be held at the end of the lake where the Dianthus Building, Goldswater Community Lodge and the playground are situated, at the end of Blencarn Close, Woking GU21 3RW.
Colourful Chinese Ceremony!
The races will begin with an ‘awakening’ ceremony at 9.50am.
The eyes of the dragon heads carved on the prow of the boats will be dotted with red paint to bring the dragon to life before three bows are made to both the dragon and to the water, to show respect.
Then a lion dance, called ‘Eating the green’ (a lettuce), will be performed by dancers in Chinese lions from the Chinese School of Woking.
The lion is a protector who keeps bad luck away. In the dance the lion eats the ‘green’ which is poisoned by evil spirits who bring bad luck. The lion realises this and spits the ‘green’ out so that it survives to fulfil its role of warding off evil spirits.
Photos credit: 3 of above photos courtesy of Bob Holmes
More Info About The Event
Local rowing teams have entered from Hoe Bridge School, Sir William Perkins School, Seymour’s Estate Agents, Wye Construction, The Garibaldi in Knaphill and The Queen’s Head in Byfleet, and Woking Funeral Services. There are also competitors from further afield including Wealth Wizards from Leeds and Amstelveense Stradstraken from the Nederlands. Sponsors Trident Honda are also fielding a team.
Woking & Sam Beare Hospices’ Dragon Boat event will once again be held in memory of keen hospice supporter Kris Cook, who grew up close to the lake where he pursued his love of water sports. Kris’ girlfriend Nicola Tait will be heading up ‘Team KC’ on the water again this year.
For the landlubbers there will be plenty to do on the lakeside by Goldswater Lodge and the playground, including a bouncy castle and slide, ice cream, tea and cakes and a bar run by the Goldsworth Park Community Association, BBQ provided by the Dianthus team, face painting by the Toad Hall Nursery staff, tombola, lucky bags, plant tent, games, stalls and much more!
You can also treat yourself to a deliciously cooling glass – or jug – of refreshing Pimms. The Chinese School of Woking will be offering the chance to try on a lion head for a photo opportunity and your name written in Chinese on a bookmark.
When & Where
When: Sunday 25th June 2017
Where: Goldsworth Park Lake & Recreation Ground
Wishbone Way
Woking
Surrey GU21 3RT
Times:
- 8.30-9.30am – teams register and safety briefings begin
- 9.45am – awakening ceremony with Chinese lions dancing, ‘eye-dotting’ of the dragon boats and short speeches by Trident Honda rep and hospice rep10am – boat races start
- 10am – all lakeside activities start – including tombola, raffle, bouncy castle and slide, BBQ, face painting, Chinese lion heads to try on and Chinese writing bookmarks, ice-creams, cake
- 3.30pm approx. – final race and prize-giving
- 4pm – event finishes
About Woking & Sam Beare Hospices
- We deliver 8,760 hours of care and support each year
- Our team of specialist healthcare professionals care for our patients 24 hours per day, seven days per week
- We care for approximately 2,000 patients each year
- Over 70% of our care is delivered in patient homes or care or nursing homes
- We receive referrals from Spelthorne, West Elmbridge, Woking, North Guildford, Surrey Heath and Runnymede but we can take patients outside of our region if required
- We are specialists in care for patients with advanced progressive complex needs
- We care for patients with, for example, advance dementia, heart disease, cancer, degenerative conditions and kidney disease
- We care for adults of all ages [18 – 85+]
- Our services are completely FREE of charge
- We offer support services for carers and family members
- We provide child and teenage bereavement counselling
- Our Wellbeing Centre offers a range of treatments and therapies
- We have 816 fabulous volunteers, without whom we could not deliver all that we do
- We work closely with GPs and other clinicians to share knowledge and expertise
- For every £5 of costs incurred we need to raise £4 from voluntary income
- We need to raise in excess of £8 million a year to continue to deliver our services
Woking & Sam Beare Hospices is a patient-centred charity that delivers specialist palliative care to adult patients of all ages who have life-limiting and terminal illnesses. We cover the North West Surrey region, providing free of charge holistic care and support services for patients, their families and carers. Each year we care for over 2000 patients, their families and carers both in our hospice and their own homes (where over 70% of our care is delivered) enabling patient choice and the best quality of life.
We care for adults of all ages with a wide range of life limiting conditions such as cancer, heart disease, Motor Neurone Disease (MND), chronic pulmonary conditions, Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). We help patients to manage their symptoms, which are often complex and why they require the expertise of our Clinical Nurse Specialists and specialist doctors.
Our services enable us to offer our patients holistic care, which means we offer practical, emotional, social and spiritual support as well as managing their medical needs. We offer day care services where patients receive assessments, treatments and therapies, as well as emotional and spiritual support. We also deliver counselling for our patients and their families, including child bereavement services and school support programmes.
We are a charity, and while we receive some government funding, around 75% of what we deliver is funded through our charity shops and fundraising activities. We could not do this without the generosity of all of our supporters, volunteers and the local community.
For more information about Woking & Sam Beare Hospices please see the Woking & Sam Beare Hospices page
Woking and Sam Beare Hospices are independent charities dedicated to providing specialised end of life care and support to local people, their families and carers. Registered charity number for Woking Hospice: 1082798. Registered charity number for Sam Beare Hospice: 1115439.
Around 75% of what we deliver is funded through our charity shops and fundraising activities. We could not do this without the generosity of all of our supporters, volunteers and the local community.