Dragon boat races, festival stay afloat despite wet weather

The volunteers, vendors and visitors to Pride of the Fox Riverfest Saturday morning were troopers.

They soldiered on through rain, picked their way around puddles and meandered through mud to watch dragon boat races, a dog show, water skiers and more at the St. Charles party.

"You deal with it," said Diane Lynch, an administrative assistant for the St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau, throwing in the paper towel on wiping the counters of her portable gazebo dry. Rain constantly dripped off its roof and on to where she had planned to display brochures.

A vendor at Miguel's Tacos stand hugged a co-worker who brought her a pair of dry socks.

The famous dragon boat races on the Fox River went on - only thunder or lightning would cancel them. In the last heat before a lunchtime break, the team from Rookies All-American Bar and Grill defeated the St. Charles Knights of Columbus, even though it appeared the Knight Riders paddled much more in sync. The wood dragon boats require 18 paddlers, a coxswain, a drummer and a flag-catcher.

"Right now my hands hurt really bad," said Sara Gebhardt, 24, of St. Charles, after the race. But despite the damp day and the muscle aches, the first-timer enjoyed it. "It was an awesome experience. It's really fun."

The festival wraps up today. It is held throughout downtown St. Charles and at Pottawatomie Park. Dragon boat racing is at 8 a.m.; other festival events start at 11 a.m. For a schedule, visit prideofthefox.com.