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Festival History
The Tim Hortons Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival began in 1993 with the assistance of the Hong Kong Canada Business Association. The first event only lasted half a day as there were only 25 teams participating. This little known sport eventually grew to be one of the hottest sporting events in the Nation's Capital and around the world.
By 2007, the sport - which once featured only 25 teams - had 190 teams participating in both corporate and community categories over two days, making the Tim Hortons Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival the largest dragon boat festival in North America.
In 1998 a charitable component was added to the festival. Since the festival brings together people from around our great community (and country), it was decided that we should do as much as possible to give back to the community. So in 1998, the "Pledge Challenge" was instituted and to date our paddlers have raised $1,800,000 for 24 local charities. In 2003 the "Ottawa Dragon Boat Foundation" was established to help focus and grow the fundraising efforts for the annual pledge campaign associated with the Festival. The Foundation is a charitable organization.
For more information on the Foundation and the Pledge Challenge click here.