Regatta a 'go,' bringing thousands to Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John's

Bringing warm temperatures and soft-enough winds, Mother Nature smiled on St. John's Wednesday morning, allowing a volunteer committee to give the go-ahead for the city's unique weather-dependent holiday.

The Royal St. John's Regatta was a "go" on Wednesday thanks to a unanimous vote by organizers, who had to decide whether the weather was calm enough to sustain hours of fixed-seat rowing races.

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The Regatta is scheduled for the first Wednesday of August every year, but the ultimate decision is made early in the morning — before 6 a.m. — by event organizers who hold the power to shut down the city for the official holiday.

"We take it very seriously," said Keith White, who helps lead the Regatta organizing committee. "There's a significant impact to the City of St. John's and to the businesses."

Royal St. John's Regatta organizer Keith White announces the "go" decision on Aug. 7, 2024. (Garrett Barry / CTV News)

The closed-door meeting is held without cellphones to prevent outside influence and leaks. And Wednesday's "go" decision meant thousands had the day off of work, and flocked to Quidi Vidi Lake to take in the spectacle.

The fixed-seat rowing races are the backdrop for a carnival-like atmosphere, filled with snacks, games of chance, music and prizes.

"We were all down here as kids, my parents had eight of us and we were all down here in playpens," said Marie Lewis, who is keeping her family's Plinko game alive at the Regatta.

"It's just kind of the excitement of it, the energy of it, the happiness when all the kids are upside down and jumping up and full of cotton candy and excited they won a little teddy bear."

There were 75 teams registered to race Wednesday and about 750 rowers, according to White.

Many vendor's booths at the Royal St. John's Regatta support charitable organizations of minor-league sports fundraisers. (Garrett Barry / CTV News)

The holiday is unique in the country — and unlike most other cities, where August's holiday is taken on a Monday to form a long weekend.

Some in St. John's would prefer that approach, but their lobbying hasn't won much support in the city's highest offices.

"St. John's is a unique city. Newfoundland and Labrador thrives itself on being unique," Mayor Danny Breen said. "So why would we want to change something that makes us special?"

The Royal St. John's Regatta is at least 200 years old — records date back to 1816 — but organizers believe it's highly likely there were similar, organized events even before that year.

Lately, the weather-sensitive holiday has also spawned a newer tradition — a risky game of chance often called "Regatta Roulette," where partiers head to pubs and bars the night before the Regatta is set to take place in hopes they'll get a whole day off of work to nurse any hangovers.

That tradition is being folded into official Regatta events — on Tuesday night, an official Regatta Eve concert was held near Quidi Vidi Lake.

"It's been building over the last number of years," Breen said. "People in St. John's, they love it. Last night … it was the biggest crowd I've seen here."