Dragon on the Lake is a festival that offers a dragon boat race, as well as a town festival filled with vendors, activities and entertainment.
2023 DATE: August 24-27, 2023
Location: Downtown Lake Orion
Website: https://downtownlakeorion.org
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This post documents my experience on August 25, 2018.
Through this gate…
…you can find Lake Orion…
…a place where teams practice on boats…
…equipped with dragon heads…
…for a Dragon Boat Festival called…
But while other dragon boat festivals took place in the racing area during the race…
…most of this festival’s activities occurred in town over the entire weekend (race was Sunday morning).
I arrived Saturday evening, during the last hour or two scheduled for vendors…
…and browsed among woven pictures…
…bows and foam-tipped arrows (Liebcraft)…
…jewelry galore…
…and various salsas and olive oils (Jose Madrid/Mie Radici).
But there was more than just shopping…
…including interactive robotic demonstrations from the Waldon Robotics Team 12682…
…endorsements from area schools (Lake Point)…
…a wild fox-turned-pet…
…and various forms of artistic expression, including pottery-making (Orion Art Center)…
….henna…
…and plenty of chalk drawing…
…where the dragon was a popular theme.
Since it was later in the day…
…activities at the children’s stage and the activity area were over…
…and food in the vendor area was limited.
That’s because the festival was off to finish the evening…
…at either the Dragon Tiki Tent…
…for games, a huge TV…
…a moving skeleton pirate…
…shaved ice…
…local beer (Homegrown Brewing)…
…a great tropical feel…
…and a super friendly staff…
…or at the Dragon Pub ($4 cover after 6)…
…for various food selections (Jet Pizza/Ms. Be Bea’s)…
…more bars…
…and a large tent offering live entertainment.