Another roaring success at St Catherine’s Dragon Boat Festival

What a day!

With months of build-up, fundraising and costume planning, the Thakeham Lions took to the Tilgate waters and rowed with all their might at the St Catherine’s Dragon Boat Festival on Sunday.

Set in beautiful surroundings at Tilgate Park, Crawley and promising a fun-filled day for all the family, it’s an event not to miss – and this year was no exception. We woke to a beautiful, warm and sunny September Sunday and The Thakeham Lions were full of anticipation and excitement to take to the water. In high spirits and fuelled with competitive adrenalin, the Thakeham Lions took their places in a 40ft Dragon Boat sporting our fancy dress.

With roaring crowds and supportive competitors, the Lions rowed their tails off! Coming third in their first heat, the second and third heats were powered by determination and rowing tips from spectators. The team got into an impressive rhythm, motoring the boat at quite a speed across the lake.

Three intense races saw the Thakeham Lions narrowly miss out on a spot in the final, but it really was the taking part the counted! Well done team!

Winners of fancy dress

The Thakeham Lions took the trophy for the Best Fancy Dress as chosen by the Mayor of Crawley. With the theme of Noah’s Ark, the Thakeham team relished in the good spirits of the day with silly face paints and colourful costumes.

Huge thanks is due to Imagine body and face paint who painted our faces fantastically and designed exactly what we had envisioned!

With laughter, determination and minimal training, our boating experience was not quite up to that of our impressive competitors, but the day was a roaring success regardless.

Making a difference

At the time of writing, while the very last pennies are being counted, the Thakeham team raised over £7,100 for St Catherine’s Hospice. Huge thanks to all our friends, family, contractors and partners that supported our mission and even came to cheer us on at Tilgate Park.

This exciting event saw families and businesses alike take advantage of a warm September Sunday, in a beautiful setting. Another successful year at The St Catherine’s Dragon Boat Festival secures this as a hugely anticipated event in the Thakeham calendar and we’re already thinking about our costumes for next year!

Thank you St Catherine’s and see you next year!