By Dominic Abassi

Hugely popular dragon boat event opens Nanaimo Marine Festival

Jul 7, 2017 | 11:56 PM

NANAIMO — One of Nanaimo’s premier summer events is underway, with thousands expected to flock to Maffeo Sutton Park this weekend.

The Survivor’s Dinner and a candle ceremony in Swy-a-Lana lagoon officially opened the 15th Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival on Friday night. 72 teams from as far away as Oregon will begin two days of racing on Saturday morning.

The festival is known for filling Nanaimo’s waterfront park with emotionally-charged energy and excitement, as well as entertainment, food trucks, a beer garden and a market of vendors.

Brenda Dutton, 75, has been competing in the Nanaimo festival since 2004. Her team, Abreast of Life, features another paddler who will be 88-years-old this month.

Dutton said a friend who knew of her battle with breast cancer asked if she wanted to join a dragon boat team. “I said ‘no thank you. I don’t swim and I don’t like water.’”

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However, Dutton said her friend was persistent and after giving it a try, she was hooked.

“The ladies on the team were so positive and they didn’t talk about breast cancer and what they’d been through unless you wanted an answer to a question,” Dutton told NanaimoNewsNOW. “We had fun, we paddled hard and that was it. I had a whole bunch of new friends and I love it.”

She said for her team it’s not about winning every time, although Dutton admitted to a personal competitive streak. “Everybody does their best and because of what they’ve been through it makes them work even harder.”

For the local teams, Dutton said competing in Nanaimo’s harbour is a special opportunity to perform in front of family and friends. The atmosphere of the event “makes you even stronger.”

“The breast cancer teams, just watching them on the water racing and being positive. Every time you put your paddle in the water, you’re doing something.”

The dragon boat festival, followed by the Silly Boat Regatta and World Championship Bathtub Race, kicked of the month-long Nanaimo Marine Festival. All of the events are seen as a major economic driver, especially for businesses tied to tourism.

“It’s the top draw, it’s the number one,” said Dan Brady, president of the Nanaimo Hospitality Association. “There’s a lot of great community events around the marine festival but in terms of what draws overnight visitors to town, dragon boats is it by leaps and bounds.”

The society which runs the event donates net proceeds to the Nanaimo Hospital Foundation and Nanaimo Community Hospice Society. Donations topped $700,000 over the last 14 years.

Racing begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday. The finals will run Sunday afternoon, followed by the awards ceremony.

Full details are available here.

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi