The Saint Martin’s Dragon Boat Festival kicks off in just a few minutes at Port Plaza in downtown Olympia.  Races are held in Budd Inlet and besides the exciting and interesting races on beautiful boats, the festival includes Chinese traditional art demonstrations, traditional lion dances, music, and martial arts performances. Just another part of a very busy Saturday downtown that includes the second day of Arts Walk and the Procession of the Species at 4:30 PM.  The Dragon Boat Festival runs from 9:00 AM and continues all day.

Back on campus, Saint Martin’s Track and Field hosts the Saint Martin’s Invitational, a six school event that starts at 9:30 AM. Seattle Pacific is the reigning champion of the invitation for both the men and the women. The event begins with the men’s hammer at 9:30 AM and is scheduled to finish with the men’s 4 x 400 relay at 5:15 PM.  For a full schedule, visit SMUSaints.com.

Racing continues down at South Sound Speedway tonight with mini stocks, hobby stocks, FSCRA bumblebees and baby grands. Qualifying starts at 5:00 PM and racing gets underway at 6:30. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for teens, seniors and military, $5 for kids 6-12 and free for the toddler set.

One high school baseball game is scheduled for this afternoon, a 2A EvCo tilt between North Thurston and Aberdeen. The game is scheduled for 1:0o PM at NTHS.

And today marks the biggest day in Saint Martin’s softball history when they take on the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders at 12:00 PM in Nampa, Idaho. Saint Martin’s has to sweep the Crusaders and hope that Simon Fraser can sweep Montana State Billings in Billings to get the GNAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.  The Saints can’t win the GNAC title because if Simon Fraser sweeps, they will take over first place from the Yellowjackets, but since Simon Fraser is a provisional member and not eligible for the postseason, the Saints would get the NCAA bid.