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Crowds enjoy non-stop entertainment at colourful 2018 festival

Community, culture, and competition were again showcased at the successful 2018 Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival proving once again, as General Manager Ann Phelps is fond of saying, “That we’re more than a big boat race.”

The sun shone most of the weekend for the 30^th anniversary of Vancouver’s largest, longest running outdoor summer festival. An estimated 100,000 people attended the three-day event that spanned from Creekside Community Centre to Science World to Concord Pacific Place on the north side of False Creek.

The colourful three days kicked off on Friday night with the brilliant reds and golds of a traditional Chinese lion dance followed by the annual ritual of the Eye-Dotting and Dragon Boat Blessing ceremony. Over the weekend, a golden line of dragon dancers snaked along the path around the silver dome of Science World, creating prime photo ops.  Street performers, jugglers, clowns, and Circus West acrobats circulated the festival site adding rainbow hues against a blue sky backdrop.

Local live music on the Main Stage, the city’s largest beer garden, a line-up of popular ethnic food trucks, and a creative craft zone for kids provided non-stop festival flavour. This year’s merchandise booth attracted racers, festival-goers, and tourists choosing from a variety of multi-coloured T-shirts, jerseys, and hoodies featuring the 2018 festival’s winning poster design created by local artist Ashlea Spitz

At the same time, 5,500 paddlers on 200 teams from around the world came to play and the competition was fierce. Proudly two Canadian teams ─ Dragon Zone Firetruck and FCRCC Dreadnought ─ took home the two top spots in the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office International Cup Grand Final on International Saturday. A U.S. team, the Tampa Bay Blade Runners, placed third.  Check out the full line-up of 2018 race results here.

Registrations are already coming in for the 31^st annual Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival, June 21-23, 2019.  Next up on the local racing circuit: the Steveston Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday, August 25, 2018.

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