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Summer starts at the continent’s biggest dragon boat festival: the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival returns to Vancouver June 20-22, 2025!

World-class racing, an entirely local lineup with headliners Lights and Felix Cartal on the TD Main Stage, and cultural showcases to welcome visitors of all generations at the Festival’s new home at Concord Pacific Place.

VANCOUVER, BC (May 20, 2025) — North America’s flagship dragon boat festival is set to host its biggest ever event on False Creek from June 20–22, 2025, as the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival launches Vancouver’s summer season with three days of culture, sport, and community celebration. With free admission and programming for everyone, the Festival captures and authentically spotlights our city’s spirit.

“We have been supporting the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival for all of its 37 years. It’s always a great opportunity for generations of families to have fun together.” said Terry Hui, Concord Pacific President and CEO. “Even more so now in these tough economic times, Vancouver community events like the Festival need to go on.”

This year’s TD Main Stage lineup spotlights the best of our city with an all-star roster, headlined by Juno Award winners and hometown talent Lights and Felix Cartal on Saturday, June 21st. The Festival’s focus on showcasing homegrown artists continues, along with its commitment to uplift BIPOC, queer, and female artists. As part of the 100% local lineup, performers include NIKKAELA, Tiger Really, The Kuyas, Coastal Wolf Pack, Cindy Yang Dance Academy, Toddy, LEAN, Royal Oak, Eagle Song Dancers, BC Chinese Music Ensemble, and Children of Takaya. The stage will close with a high-energy “Summer Solstice” dance party by local Asian drag and DJ collective Ricecake.

Meanwhile, the Concord Stage will offer a vibrant showcase of intergenerational artistry, including a special workshop and performance by Vancouver Cantonese Opera, complete with traditional face makeup demos and free face painting for kids. Additional performances in music, dance, magic, and interactive activities promise to make this stage a hub for community connection and creativity.

“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.”

Due to seawall closures along False Creek, the Festival has moved all of its public festival activities to its new home at Concord Pacific Place. The new location builds in additional safety and comfort that help visitors of all generations enjoy Vancouver’s ultimate summer kickoff event. From larger video screens so visitors can watch races easier; to accessible pathways that help families with strollers, bikes, or wheelchairs to get around; and easy access to Stadium Skytrain Station, the Festival is excited to welcome visitors to Concord Pacific Place.

The Festival expects to draw over 200,000 attendees to the False Creek waterfront for one of the city’s largest and most anticipated free summer events. Highlights for 2025 include:

North America’s Biggest Dragon Boat Race: This year will see teams from across Canada and 10 other countries from around the world face off on the water in one of the world’s most prestigious dragon boat competitions. Races begin at 8:00 am on Saturday June 21, and run every 10 minutes until 8:00 pm on Sunday June 22. On Sunday, all races from 12:30 pm onwards are medal rounds.

Most races will start near the Cambie Street Bridge, and end in front of Concord Pacific Place. Race distances vary 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.

All of the Festival’s races are held in a special fleet of boats that are used only once a year to maintain the Festival’s globally renowned racing quality. The races will be livestreamed at concordlive.ca, on Dragon Boat BC’s YouTube channel, and on screens across the Festival site.
Celebrating 30 Years of Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Paddling: In 1996, Dr. Don McKenzie, a sports medicine physician and researcher at UBC, defied prevailing medical advice by encouraging breast cancer survivors to engage in upper body exercise and formed the first-ever breast cancer dragon boat team. His work sparked a worldwide phenomenon, with hundreds of teams now active across Canada, the US, the UK, Latin America, Australia, and beyond.
At the 2025 Festival, over a thousand breast cancer paddlers from around the world will return to Vancouver to celebrate 30 years of hope and resilience on the very waters where their story began. Special programming includes a Friday night global reunion and welcome party, special races on Saturday and Sunday, and a flower ceremony to honour and remember those that have battled and continue to battle breast cancer on Sunday afternoon.
Concord Pacific Community Zone: The newly expanded Concord Community Stage provides an even bigger platform for local musicians and artists to shine and be showcased. Situated immediately outside of the Concord Pacific Presentation Centre, this area will also include face painting and balloon twisting for kids, a kids colouring RESP contest, and surprise pop-up roaming cultural performances like lion dance, face changers, and dragon dances!

Food Trucks and Vancouver’s largest waterfront outdoor licensed patio: From Greek, Japanese and Latin flavours to street food, comfort food and desserts, 20+ food trucks will be on-site to provide families and food lovers with dozens of delicious options as diverse as Vancouver itself. The Festival will also feature Vancouver’s largest outdoor waterfront licensed patio, offering cold drinks from 11:00 am to 8:30 pm in the TD Main Stage Zone.

Pavilions: The Festival showcases local culture- including its non-profit community partners, organizations, small businesses, artists, and educational activities through the:

Chinatown Pavilion featuring community vendors, organizations, displays, art and craft activities, and artisan demonstrations like the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, Chinese Canadian Museum, and Chinatown Storytelling Centre.
Pride Pavilion in collaboration with the Vancouver Pride Society, to spotlight 2SLGBTQIA+ vendors, artists, and community organizations during Pride month.
Indigenous Pavilion will spotlight local Indigenous artists, vendors, and storytellers, including from the Host Nations. Visitors will also have a chance to learn and witness Indigenous placemaking, involving drumming, dance, and interactive cultural activities.
Breast Cancer Paddler Pavilion in partnership with Abreast In A Boat, bringing together paddlers from around the world to see artefacts relating to breast cancer paddling’s link to Vancouver, memorabilia from around the world, and speakers.

Got Craft Market Outdoor Craft Fair: Support local! Visit and shop 100+ local artisans and artists in one of the city’s biggest outdoor craft fairs, as we celebrate our community’s creativity.

About the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society

Community, culture, and competition, all in one boat. 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 in Olympic Village – Canada’s largest paddling club. The Society also produces a series of races, cultural programming, and community initiatives centred around the traditional Chinese cultural sport of dragon boat around BC. Through its all access and youth programs, supported by the Milton K. Wong Legacy Project, the Society makes paddling experiences accessible regardless of any barriers to participation.

Contact Information
For all media inquiries, availabilities, and backgrounder requests, please contact:

Dragon Boat BC Info Desk
info@dragonboatbc.ca
604 688 2382 X 2

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