Volunteer Committee Openings!

The Victoria Dragon Boat Festival Society has immediate openings on some of our year-round committees!  Sponsorship, Communications, Race, and Paddlers Experience are all recruiting.

Be part of the team that brings the most spectacular summer festival to Victoria's Inner Harbour.  Time commitments vary by committee; email Glenys at manager@victoriadragonboat.com or call our office at 250-704-2500 to find a committee that is right for you.

Looking to volunteer over the festival weekend?  Volunteer Registration opens early May!

Paddles Up!

Check Out Our New Website!

We are testing out a new website in anticipation of our 20th Anniversary this summer.  We hope you find it easier to navigate and full of all the information that you need to make the most out of your experience at the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival.

Some exciting new features on the site include our Paddlers' Blog, more ways to interact with us through social media and way more photos than ever before.  And we aren't done yet!

There are exciting things in the works as we prepare to celebrate 20 years of Dragon Boating here in Victoria.  Check the site often to find out what we will be doing!

We want your feedback!  Contact us through the new website and let us know how we can improve.

www.victoriadragonboat.com

2013 Paddlers' Breakfast

Wondering where to go for breakfast on Saturday or Sunday morning before the races? Why not enjoy a hearty cooked breakfast on site?


Pancakes, scrambled eggs, ham slices, coffee and juice supplied by Denny's. Milk and yoghurt supplied by Island Farms. All this for $5.00 - what a deal!

Everyone is welcome. Online advanced ticket sales end on Tuesday, August 13. Limited tickets will be sold at the door on Saturday and Sunday morning.

Doors open at 7:00am in the Beer Garden. Breakfast until 10:00am, as long as food is available.

2013 Paddlers' Party

Join us at the Paddlers' Party on Saturday, August 17 for authentic ethnic cuisine supplied by Mama Rosie's, Hungry Rooster, The Reef, Puerto Vallarta Amigo's, Noodle Cart, and the Victoria and Vancouver Island Greek Cultural Society.

There will also be salad provided by Fairway Market and a delicious dessert.

Dinner will be served at 6:00pm in the Beer Garden.


Sample this fantastic menu for only $15.00! Pre-sales will end on Tuesday, August 13, but tickets can be purchased on site at the Beer Garden during the Festival.

Buy for a group and save! If you purchase 10 tickets together, you will receive 2 tickets free!

2013 Paddlers' Pledge Drive

Is your team participating in the Paddlers' Pledge?

The Paddlers' Pledge Program is an integral part of the fundraising that the Victoria Dragon Bat Festival does for our Charity of Choice, the BC Cancer Foundation. Paddlers have raised over $18,970 so far. We're on our way to our $50,000 goal!

All participating teams will be entered in a draw to win 50% off their 2014 registration! Plus, the top fundraising team will win FREE registration for the 2014 Victoria Dragon Boat Festival!

Register online and help impact the lives of cancer patients here on Vancouver Island, in BC and around the world. 

You can help Paddlers reach their goals by donating online here. 

2013 Paddlers' Airband Competition

All of our spots are full for this year's Airband Competition!

Come out on Saturday August 16 at 7:00pm on the Main Stage to witness some amazing Airband magic!
Not only will you get to enjoy some performances that are both hilarious and impressive, but you will also be able to decide their fate; the winner is determined by audience response!

Will the reigning champions, the Goblin Empire, walk away with the infamous trophy again this year? Or will it be River Spirit, Sync or Swim, VCKC Unbalanced, or Fairway Market Dragon Express? 

2013: This Year's Theme: Victoria INK!

This year's theme is Victoria INK! Get creative with your team and get your tent decorated! We want to see those team logos!

The winning team will receive a spectacular team banner courtesy of Scimitar Sports.

Don't worry out-of-town Paddlers, if you can't bring supplies to decorate your tent, you can decorate yourselves! Throw on some face paint, temporary tattoos, costumes - whatever you can to stand out!

Island Breaststrokers' 50/50 Draw

Pre-sale tickets to the 50/50 draw hosted by the Island Breaststrokers are now available!

The 50/50 will benefit our Charity of Choice, the BC Cancer Foundation.

Tickets will only be sold in advance by email and within the Paddlers' Village on Satuday, August 17 and Sunday, August 18 from the Island Breaststrokers.

For more information and to purchase tickets, please see this form. Completed forms are to be sent to scorchie@shaw.ca.

Good luck!

Paddlers' Pledge Program

Attention paddlers! 

Is your team participating in the Paddlers’ Pledge Program?

If you and your team are considering participating in the Paddlers’ Pledge Program, consider this – one team that takes part in the Paddlers’ Pledge Program will be drawn at random to win 50% off their 2014 registration for the Canada Dry Victoria Dragon Boat Festival.  Whether you raise $100 or $10,000, as long as your team is registered in the Paddlers’ Pledge Program you will be eligible.

In 2012, six fundraising teams raised more than $31,000 to support cancer research right here on Vancouver Island through the Paddlers’ Pledge Program.  Imagine what a difference we could make if 10 teams participated, or 20 teams, or 50 teams!

PLUS – the top fundraising team in the 2013 Paddlers’ Pledge Program will win 100% off their registration in the 2014 Canada Dry Victoria Dragon Boat Festival! That’s right, your team could be coming back to Victoria next August for free!

For more information or to register click here!

2013 Festival Kick-Off Media Launch

Our 19th annual early morning Media Launch was full of energy and excitement as guests were entertained by the Uminari Taiko drummers and enjoyed a buffet of delicious food and drinks provided by The Inn at Laurel Point and Canada Dry. Over 100 people attended, including representatives from local municipalities (Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin, Victoria Councillor Charlyene Thorton-Joe, and Oak Bay Mayor Neils Jansen) and the Legislative Assembly of BC (Victoria-Beacon Hill MLA Carole James).

At this year’s launch, Mark Mawhinney, Chair of the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival Society, announced that three locally manufactured Millennium dragon boats were purchased for use both at Canada Dry Dragon Boat Festival and by local teams through the coming summer. This purchase is in alignment with the Society’s mission of Bringing Communities Together Through Dragon Boating by providing opportunities for new paddlers to excel in a great team water sport.

The Festival’s longest standing corporate sponsor, Fairway Market, reaffirmed their continued support of the Lights of Courage Campaign by the selling of Lanterns at all Fairway Market locations starting Monday, July 15, 2013. Purchasers are encouraged to write a message of support for someone affected by cancer and hang their lantern at the 2013 Canada Dry Victoria Dragon Boat Festival (Friday, August 16 through Sunday, August 18, 2013).

Missed the event? Event details may be found in the press release.