News & Events

Festival at a Glance

The Festival

North America’s largest dragon boat festival
The Tim Hortons Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival began in 1993 with the assistance of the Hong Kong Canada Business Association
2012 marks the 19th Annual Tim Hortons Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival
Original Founders are Frank Ling, President of the Asian Heritage Month Society, Warren Creates, Head of Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP’s Immigration Law Group and Mike Chambers, President of the Canadian Olympic Committee
Executive Director John Brooman
Represented by Ottawa’s three largest media groups: CTV, Bell Media Group & the Ottawa Citizen

Logistics

Onsite Entertainment & Activities

Multicultural performances including live music, cultural presentations, and ceremonial activities
Children’s area featuring award winning family entertainment
A lively beer garden
Food vendors featuring international cuisine and summer desserts
Exhibitions and shopping opportunities

Dragon Boating

Part of a larger Chinese cultural tradition that goes back 2,400 years
Began in South East China as a fertility rite to avert misfortune and bring rain by worshiping the dragon
A dragon boat is a slim 44’ racer with a dragon’s head at the bow and a tail at the stern
Each dragon boat holds 20 paddlers, a drummer and a steersperson
190 teams participate in competitive, corporate, and community groups
New race every 9 minutes
15 Challenge Cup categories
Breast Cancer Survivor Challenge and traditional Flower Ceremony
1,500 medals awarded
Approximately 5,000 paddlers
Paddlers participate in dragon boat clubs across Canada and the U.S.

at a glance