Qu Yuan, a councilor to the King of Ch'u, was exiled in the third century B.C. after his attempts to influence public welfare were denied. So distraught was he over the exile that he threw himself into a river. The people of Ch'u despaired, but honored his death with protracted vigilance by the river. They threw rice into the water so that he would not go hungry and navigated the river in boats, splashing their paddles and beating drums so that fish and river dragons would give the deceased a wide berth. As time passed, these ceremonies evolved into the tradition of the dragon boat race and its associated festival.

Much has been built around the tradition, so that today, it has become a cause for festivities and races. A sport of dragon boat racing has evolved, one which has become so widespread as to be called by Paddle magazine, "the second largest sport in the world." In 1996, a volunteer, community-based group called the Northern California International Dragon Boat Championships (NCIDBC) was born. This four-month celebration is the fruit of the organization's labors. Last year, the NCIDBC held the largest dragon boat race in California history at Redwood Shores, and this year's festival should easily eclipse that mark. This year's event is sponsored by Self-Help for the Elderly.