Breathing fire...

This July 16th and 17th the annual summer festival for charity known as the Thunder Bay Dragon Boat Race Festival will enjoy its 12th year. The annual festival raises money for three important local charities: St. Joseph’s Foundation, Catholic Family Development Centre and the Canadian Mental Health Association. The festival has changed throughout the years but continues to match fun summer times with raising money for a worthy cause. In fact, the festival has raised $850,000 in the past 11 years.

The thrill of being on the water is what keeps bringing participants back to the event year after year. Race categories are organized into Speed, Skill and Spirit meaning that teams of all different athletic abilities and paddling prowess can participate. Over the years the festival has highlighted some very special teams such as One in a Million, a dragon boat crew as a legacy to Steven Hajdinjak who died by suicide November 17, 2005, or the Dragons of Hope, a dragon boat crew made up of Breast Cancer survivors.

The website www.thunderbaydragonboat.com has helped to organize the event and spread awareness. The website allows anyone to pledge their favourite paddler online, which has helped many teams in their fundraising efforts.

If you have never tried Dragon Boating, or if you tried it long ago, we are asking you to get involved in a great summer tradition in Thunder Bay. By visiting the website you will see how to register your team or simply register as an individual; either way you will be involved in a great event supporting great causes for our community.

A special thanks to all the volunteers and continued support from our sponsors. Our festival would be nothing without you.

Riley Burton is the Marketing Chair of Dragon Boat Festival. She can be reached at 475-6274.