Hundreds of paddlers entered the Willamette River Saturday to race dragon boats as part of the World Beat Festival.
The annual tradition drew 16 women’s teams, eight mixed gender and six community teams, including three representing local charities. Each team includes 20 paddlers, a drummer and a steerer.
It’s the first time in years Salem’s races have included community teams raising funds for charity, said Maggie Crawford, who coordinates the races. Liberty House, Salem’s nonprofit child abuse assessment center, reported its team raised over $5,000. Other teams represented Kicking Cancer and United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley.
The charity race ended with the KC Draggin Our A$$ paddlers taking the win, with a time of 1:59.81.
In the women’s division, Catch 22 Tsunami took first place with a time of 1:43.95, followed by Lake Meridian, 1:47.05.
Catch 22 Hurricane won the mixed division with a time of 1:33.46, with Fire Breathing Blowfish in second place, 1:44.43.
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Laura Tesler has lived in Salem, Oregon for 20 years and is originally from Flint, MI. Laura has been an underwater photographer for 15 years, and is an avid scuba diver. Topside, she has been taking photographs since age 12, and currently works on assignment for the Salem Reporter, and full time purchasing land for fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Valley. Laura attended Oregon State University, and has traveled extensively all over the world and the United States.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
