Kaohsiung, Taiwan has been Portland's sister city since 1988—the formal agreement was marked by gifting the then mayor of Kaohsiung a freshly caught, 36-pound Tillamook Bay Chinook salmon. Every year since, Kaohsiung loans eight traditional dragon boats with molded fiberglass heads and tails for the annual races during the Portland Rose Festival. A new race starts every nine minutes on the Willamette near the Hawthorne Bridge, making for an action-packed day viewable from the surrounding shores. This year brings the introduction of an open division with no gender restrictions, a fitting move as we kick off Pride season.  by Shannon Lubetich