Looking for an exciting event that the whole family will enjoy? Check out the Rotary Club of Stratford’s Dragon Boat Festival on September 16. An added bonus? You will be helping to support Rotary’s fundraising efforts for charities as well.
Shuttle buses from Zehrs to the event on Lake Victoria will begin running at 6:30 a.m. and the first race of the day gets started at 8:36 a.m.
Stratford Rotary’s Dragon Boat Festival spokesperson Gary Wreford said, “We anticipate there will be at least 40 dragon boat teams involved in this amazing day of racing. Given that there are 22 people in each team, that’s a lot of participation from the dragon boat community.”
He continued, “This is a special race, it’s one of the biggest, and it’s the last of the season, so we get a lot of teams out. And of course, proceeds from the day go to support Rotary projects both in Stratford and around the world. So far, in 26 years of running this event, we have raised $935,915 for charitable projects.”
He added, “We are excited to hit that one-million-dollar mark, maybe even next year!”
In addition to watching thrilling dragon boat races along the river, attendees can also enjoy great food from several food trucks, a beer tent, live music all day long, and a children’s play area for the little ones. “We really do try to make it an enjoyable event for the whole family,” said Wreford.
Wreford is very happy with the level of support from the community. “We have 59 cash sponsors and 26 in-kind sponsors so far, for this year’s event,” he said. “The day costs almost $40,000 to run, plus in-kind donations of $23,000. We couldn’t do the event and use the profits for our projects without this huge level of community support. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” he finished.
Proceeds from this and other Rotary fundraisers throughout the year go towards Rotary Centre; Rotary Hospice; Commit, which supports medical research around the world; and Aquaboxes, which supply clean drinking water around the world; among other charitable activities.
“One of the different things we do to promote this great event is put a dragon boat in the square behind City Hall,” said Wreford. “It’s a great place to take the kids to hop in the boat, or to take a family photo or a selfie for social media.”
For a wonderful event full of entertainment for the whole family, check out the Rotary Club of Stratford’s 26th Dragon Boat Race. It’s a wonderful day of racing, connecting with your community, and being together.