The Penticton Dragon Boat Festival will be roaring back to life this summer for the first time since 2019.
“We are thrilled to be back,” festival president Launa Maundrell said in a press release.
“Our festival is always held the weekend after Labour Day and teams see it as the last hurrah to summer and their racing season. 2020 would have been our 20th anniversary. Penticton holds many years of special memories for a lot of these teams, and I know they will be excited to be back in our city to celebrate the 20th annual event with us, albeit two years late.”
The Penticton Dragon Boat Festival is the second-largest dragon boat festival in B.C., behind the Vancouver Dragon Boat Festival which is one of the biggest dragon boat festivals in North America.
Organizers said it attracts 80 teams and approximately 2,000 athletes for a two-day event on Skaha Lake, with a new race starting approximately every 10 minutes. There are some 80 races over the two-day event. Teams travel to Penticton from all over British Columbia and Alberta.
Before the big event, the Okanagan Super Sprints will be held June 10 and 11.
The smaller event provides excellent early-season training, with shorter distance races allowing teams to get race ready without the pressure that comes with a larger event. The first day is dedicated to teams aged 55-plus. Over the years, paddlers at the Okanagan Super Sprints have raised close to $40,000 that goes towards the organization Muscular Dystrophy Canada.
For more information about dragon boat paddling and the Penticton Dragon Boat Festival, sponsorship opportunities, or to join a team, email race director Don Mulhall at don@pentictondragonboat.com or call 250-488-3100.