By Steffen Klenk
On Sunday, July 11th, Gilda’s Club South Jersey will hold a unique event. Hundreds of participants, volunteers, vendors, spectators and breast cancer survivors will gather at Mays Landing’s Lake Lenape Park East for the 5th Annual Dragon Boat Festival. In 2019, more than 650 participants and 31 teams took to the water for a day of family-friendly fun, all for a worthy cause.
The Dragon Boat Festival is the largest fundraiser of the year for Gilda’s Club South Jersey (GCSJ). In years past, the organization has raised more than $100,000 to help local individuals with cancer through a variety of in-person programs at their Linwood clubhouse and satellite facilities at AtlantiCare and Inspira Cancer Centers in Vineland and Mullica Hill.
Since the start of the pandemic, all of their in-person offerings became virtual, a first for the local Gilda’s Club. Their Program Director, Erin McAllister, transitioned all of their in-person programs online via Zoom, which was vital to the future of the South Jersey chapter, according to CEO Eileen Dillon. “Having been closed for over a year, I’m not sure what our future would have been.”
Today, Gilda’s Club is moving forward with its reopening plan, while also looking ahead at expansion. As the only full service cancer support community in the New Jersey, the organization plans to double its programs. Dillon says their presence in the community has been growing within the last year through its virtual offerings. “The virtual program (has) worked for so many patients that either weren’t doing well enough to attend in-person, going through treatment, or weren’t able to get to us geographically.”
In 2019, the Dragon Boat Festival saw more than 1,100 attendees, paddlers and spectators at Lake Lenape. This year, festival-goers are slated to return for a spectacular day of racing and fun to support Gilda’s Club programs. Festivities will include the dragon boat regatta, which attracts over 30+ teams made up of men and women, alongside cancer survivors.
During the day, a special flower ceremony is held along the water’s edge. Paddlers and attendees to commemorate and honor all individuals who are affected by cancer and remembering those who have lost their battle. With more than 16,000 individuals diagnosed with cancer every year, the ceremony raises importance of Gilda’s Club mission, to support individuals and families who are impacted.
Throughout the day, attendees can enjoy cornhole tournaments, activities for the kids, delicious food from Essl’s Dugout and Josie Kelly’s, and a seafood boil. In addition, there will be a beer garden with tastings offered by Jon Henderson of Good Time Tricycle Productions. Jon is best known for producing local events including the Atlantic City Beer & Music Festival, held recently at Bader Field.
Teams and individuals who would like to participate in this year’s Dragon Boat Regatta are asked to call 609-926-2699. You can also visit gildasclubsouthjersey.org/dragon-boat-festival to register or make a donation.
Gilda’s Club is currently seeking volunteers to fill morning and afternoon shifts as this year’s Dragon Boat Festival. If you are interested, please email Lotoya Manning at lotoya@gildasclubsouthjersey.org. If you would like to be a vendor, contact Jessica Melville at jessica@gildasclubsouthjersey.org.
Steffen Klenk is a multimedia journalist. He resides in Ocean City and enjoys capturing the eclectic moments of shore life.
