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Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival announces biggest line-up with more to experience than any festival weekend, including Vancouver’s first public drone show and the continent’s biggest race

Vancouver, BC – May 21, 2024 – North America’s flagship dragon boat festival will be bigger and better in 2024, when the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival kicks off the first weekend of summer (June 22-23). On top of the biggest dragon boat race in North America, the Festival will feature: Vancouver’s first ever public drone show, a 100% local line-up of acts on the TD Main Stage, a new Pride Pavilion alongside Chinatown and Indigenous Pavilions, and a new family programming zone at Concord Pacific Place. Admission to Festival activities is free.

The Festival’s key highlight features over 6,000 racers and 250 entries from across Canada, the United States, and overseas competing in one of the world’s most prestigious races. Races run every 10 minutes starting at 8:00 am on June 22. 

“We are proud to be here for the 36th straight year.” said Terry Hui, Concord Pacific President and CEO. “The festival truly epitomizes Vancouver with people from every walk of life participating and attending. It has been great to see it grow over the decades and now be the biggest dragon boat race in North America with more to experience than any other festival weekend in Vancouver.”

“We’re thrilled to return as the premier sponsor for the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival and­­ welcome another stellar roster of local artists to the TD Main Stage,” said Julie Armour, Senior Vice President and Pacific Region Head, TD Bank Group. “We’re looking forward to kicking off summer with an incredible weekend of sensational competition on the water, captivating musical performances and celebrating the diversity that makes our communities shine.”

More than 130,000 people are expected in False Creek for what has become one of Vancouver’s largest and most popular free summer events. 2024 event highlights include:

Drone show: The skies above False Creek come alive on June 22 (~9:30 pm), with a dazzling aerial drone performance synchronized to a local music soundtrack. This will be Vancouver’s first public drone show. The family-friendly show will begin as the sun sets over the Vancouver skyline, and can be viewed from around the North East False Creek basin and screens throughout the site.

Music on the TD Main Stage: Providing the soundtrack to Vancouver’s summer kickoff party on the TD Main Stage will be a 100% local lineup of homegrown stars and emerging artists. Headlining the Festival on Saturday will be indie rock favourites Hey Ocean! performing a special reunion set. Juno-nominated Filipino R&B/hip-hop duo Manila Grey closes out the Festival in style on Sunday.

Concord Pacific Community Zone: The new family-friendly Community Zone features a Draw the Future colouring contest, where children will have a chance to win one of two $3,600 RESP contributions. Visitors will also enjoy musicians, magicians, face painting, balloon twisters, complimentary bike parking, and bike tune-ups. 

Food Trucks and licensed patio: From Greek, Japanese and Latin flavours to street food, comfort food and desserts, 25 food trucks will be on-site to provide families and food lovers with dozens of delicious options as diverse as Vancouver itself, delivered in partnership with the Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival. The Festival will also feature Vancouver’s largest outdoor licensed patio with the Red Truck Patio serving up cold drinks from 11am to 8:30pm in the TD Main Stage Zone.

Pavilions and Zones: The 2024 Festival will spotlight local cultural organizations, non-profits, small businesses, artists, entertainers and educational activities, including:

• Pride, Chinese, and Indigenous Pavilions: The new Pride Pavilion, in partnership with the Vancouver Pride Society, showcases queer sports and community service organizations as Vancouver gets set to host Canada Pride this August at Concord Pacific Place. This pavilion joins the existing Indigenous and Chinatown Pavilions, each featuring community vendors, organizations, displays, art and craft activities, and artisan demonstrations.

• Artisan Craft Market: The Festival is getting bigger with 100 participating exhibitors and vendors. As part of the expansion, the Festival has partnered again with Got Craft Markets to showcase local businesses and artists with unique products and services.

• Dragon Boat Heritage: The Festival’s fleet of racing boats features artwork by local Indigenous, Chinese and other artists, with the artwork also reproduced for visitors to see up close on land. As well, one of the first dragon boats in Canada— a teak dragon boat Hong Kong donated to Vancouver for dragon boat races at Expo 86— will be on display.

“This year’s Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival will be our biggest and best ever, with a weekend full of races, music, culture, food, and programming that celebrates the best of Vancouver,” says Alexis Gall, Executive Director, Dragon Boat BC. “Best of all, admission is free, it’s easy and quick to get here by SkyTrain or bus, and we have something for everyone looking to get their summer off to a fun start.”

Dragon Boat Racing

Dragon boat races start near the Cambie Street Bridge, with race distances varying between 100-metre knockouts, 500-metre competitions and 2-kilometre circuit races. Racers in the 40-foot, 550-lb boats are expected to complete each 500M race in around two minutes. Racing starts at 8:00 am on Saturday, June 22 with teams advancing to Sunday’s semi-finals and finals. Races run every 10 minutes until 6:30 on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, all races from 12:30 pm onwards will be medal rounds, with the TD Premier Mixed Competitive Grand Final expected at approximately 5:45 pm.

Specialty race events include the Concord Pacific Champion Race Series on Saturday at noon, featuring teams in 100-metre sprint knockouts racing for the International Cup, 24U Cup, Senior Cup, Breast Cancer Cup, Pride Cup, and Para Cup. The final race on both Saturday and Sunday features 18 boats racing simultaneously in the world’s largest 2km circuit time trial. 

All of the Festival’s races are held in a special fleet of international-class boats, used only once a year to maintain the Festival’s globally renowned racing quality. The racing will be livestreamed at concordlive.ca as well as on screens throughout the Festival site.

Festival attendees are encouraged to take public transit to the site, which is located across the street from the Main Street and Stadium SkyTrain stations and easily accessed by numerous bus routes. The event site is wheelchair and stroller-friendly and complimentary bike parking will be available at the new Concord Community Zone on the finish line by the Concord Pacific Presentation Centre.

About the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society

The Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society (Dragon Boat BC) is the non-profit organizer of North America’s flagship dragon boat festival, the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival, and runs Dragon Zone Paddling Club, the largest paddling club in Canada. Dragon Boat BC also produces a series of dragon boat races, cultural programming, and community initiatives, and works to make paddling experiences accessible to everyone through its All Access and youth programs.

For images and b-roll, please visit https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15_gAyL_odAMk_VxzKkldfTcwYJzxnND9 

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Media Contact:

Greg Descantes
604-417-1379

gdescantes@pacegroup.com