Hundreds of people took part in Cambridge Riverfest Saturday with Dragon Boats teams being the main attraction. Jessica Wong of the Onami DBC hammers out a beat for the rowers.

CAMBRIDGE -- Donna Gelinas must be one of the most gracious people on Earth -- especially on the water.

Sitting at a dock at Riverbluffs Park in Cambridge on Saturday morning, fresh from being trounced by Team Freedom in one of the dragon boat race heats, Gelinas led a round of applause for the winning team.

But Gelinas' teammates, mostly staff members at Cambridge's Lisaard House, weren't sweating the loss.

Lisaard House, a six-bed hospice for residents who are dying of cancer, was the featured charity at this weekend's annual Riverfest. The house will be nine years old next month, said Connie Dwyer, hospice director.

So money from pledges and sales of raffle tickets at Riverfest will go toward sprucing up the hospice. Walls in the residents' rooms will get a fresh coat of paint and the hardwood floors will be refinished.

When Lisaard House was Riverfest's featured charity two years ago, it raised about $7,000. The total shot to about $13,000 this year, said Sheila Ainsworth, president of Lisaard House board.

"As you can imagine, we're very excited about that," she said.

Most of the money came in the form of pledges for donations. Many were made by members of dragon boat teams, she added.