Some of the most dedicated dragon boaters around are coming back to Stratford.
Organizers of the Stratford Rotary Dragon Boat Festival are hoping for another terrific weekend of weather, when athletes from all over descend on the Festival City for the Sept. 16 races.
Robert Ritz, Chair of the Dragon Boat committee, told StratfordToday it's a big fundraiser for the area.
“We could hit $50,000 here,” Ritz said, “And that just goes right back to the community … it's truly a community event.”
The festival has been held on Lake Victoria in Stratford since 1996 and continues to be the Stratford Rotary Club’s biggest fundraiser. This year close to 50 teams will participate in the recreational Hong Kong-style races, featuring more than 36 races and a 2,000 metre final with the top eight teams.
Since its inception, the Festival has raised close to $1 million.
Every year citizens sit and watch from the banks of the river, enjoying a plethora of food trucks, an opening ceremony, and live music.
The Festival estimates more than 2,000 people will attend to watch.
So far about 46 teams have registered, the largest showing in recent years. Last year there were 36 teams.
Even pre-COVID the showing wasn’t as large. In prior years the number of teams registered was in the low 40s.
There is still time to register. Team registration this year was extended until Aug. 31.
Ritz said that many people look forward to the festival and have enjoyment from the various things to do and watch. For him, the satisfaction is pulling off such a big undertaking.
“It's a big team,” he shared. “Our team is great and it's neat to see it happen every year.”
Ritz said it's great to see local businesses get involved. This year the beer will be served by Cowbell Brewing Co., located in neighbouring Huron County, as opposed to a larger chain.
The Rotary Club of Stratford has been a fixture in the city since 1922, when it chartered with only 22 members. Today, the club has hundreds of members and raises funds for a number of different projects, such as Respite House, Rotary Hospice Stratford Perth, Aquabox, and the Stratford Rotary Complex.
As Ritz said, those projects are why the Dragon Boat Festival is so important.
“It’s the community helping the community be a community.”
