Organizers hope variety can re-energize Dragon Boat Festival

THUNDER BAY – Expect a smaller, but more varied Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday at Boulevard Lake.

Volker Kromm, president of the Lakehead Canoe Club, says only about 12 teams have entered the 18th annual event’s showcase races.
But, he said, with the addition of paddle board and canoe and kayak contests, there will be plenty of action for everyone to take in.

Kromm remains hopeful they can return the festival to its glory days, though admitted the possible draining of Boulevard Lake in 2017 means it may have to wait a year.

Thunder Bay isn’t alone. Duluth and Kenora have both seen their dragon boat festivals disappear.

Kromm said the situation locally was exacerbated when they chose to move the festival from July to August, to avoid conflicts with several other events on the summer calendar, including the Staal Foundation Open and the recent Can-Am Police Fire Games.

“We draw on the same volunteers, sponsors and participants as all these events. We had to change it and that made us lose a lot of teams,” Kromm said.

“The Americans didn’t come up this year because of the date change, it’s much too close to their event. We’re up against a lot of other factors.”

He’s hoping over time they’ll carve out an August niche for themselves.

“We’ll make it a lot more fun event and try to bring the families back,” Kromm said.

There will be an opening ceremony taking place as well as closing fireworks on Saturday night.