Despite some scrambling, organizers say the show will go on for the Nanaimo dragonboat festival.
While the regular festival was relocated to Victoria this year because of financial reasons, dragonboat teams from the region have collaborated with V.I. Paddling and the Downtown Nanaimo Business Association to hold a one-day Nanaimo Dragon Boat Regatta this Saturday, July 13, at Maffeo Sutton Park.
Twenty-person vessels will compete in 200-metre races. Tom Arnold, president and coach of V.I. Paddling, told the News Bulletin that the Nanaimo festival is traditionally a 500m event, but it was thought a shorter distance would be better this year.
"It allows us to get more races in for the teams in just a single-day event … the sandbar in the middle of the course has gotten pretty tricky for some teams and so a 200m course allows us to race inside the sandbar so it's not an issue. It's also really spectator-friendly; a 200m race is really fast," said Arnold. "The finish line is always really, really tight."
In March, the Fairway Gorge Paddling Club, Nanaimo dragon boat festival organizers, announced that increasing costs and lack of government funding led to the decision to move the festival to the south Island and Arnold said organizers had to scramble to put together an event in Nanaimo for 2024.
"Usually, events like this are announced in the fall of the year preceding the race," said Arnold. "So for us to pick up the threads and start trying to organize an event in April, to run in July? The timeline has been nuts, but we've just been really fortunate to have a lot of support from dragon boat teams in the community as well as a number of the great sponsors."
There will be women's and mixed divisions of racing.
Crimson Coast Dance Society will be among those providing entertainment and food trucks will be on site.
The Nanaimo area Angels Abreast team will host a carnation ceremony honouring those still fighting and in memory of those who have died of breast cancer. Money raised will go toward cancer treatment at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
For more information, click on 'V.I. paddling festivals,' under the 'what we offer' tab at http://vipaddling.com.
