Summer is festival season in Ottawa, with multiple annual events running every weekend from June to September. The weekend closest to the summer solstice always brings back the Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival. The four-day event takes place at Mooney’s Bay Park and Beach.
The festival site offers entertainment for the whole family. In addition to boat racing, there are food trucks, information booths, artisan stalls, a children’s area and concerts in the evening. The festival attracts sizeable crowds since admission is free.
We spent a relaxing Saturday at the festival and cheered on the teams. The general atmosphere on site was good humoured and friendly. We observed the teams as they disembarked from their boats, and the camaraderie was palpable. We saw paddlers of different ages and levels of fitness. Teams had creative and colourful names printed on their t-shirts, which added to the festive atmosphere.
We noticed that quite a high proportion of the paddlers were women and older adults. From our observations, we mused that the sport appeared to foster an active lifestyle, while promoting participation and inclusivity. We were curious to find out more.
Continue reading “Paddling for joy”