Dragon Boat Festival kicks off in Vancouver

Dragon Boat races return to False Creek North America's largest dragon boat competition is taking place on False Creek this weekend.

Thousands of spectators are expected to turn up to the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival, which takes place this weekend on Vancouver’s False Creek.

Billed as North America’s largest dragon boat festival, 6,000 racers from Canada and around the world will compete in a variety of categories on Saturday and Sunday. The races run every ten minutes throughout the day.

Dominic Lai with Dragon Boat B.C. told CTV News attendees should look forward to the Premier Mixed Grand Final on Sunday evening. Last year, the headlining race was decided by three tenths of a second, he said.

“Those teams have been gunning it out for the entire year trying to see who comes out on top, so that’s going to be a very hotly-contested race,” Lai said.

In addition to the races, the festival grounds are packed with entertainment, including Vancouver’s first-ever public drone show on Saturday night.

A slate of live music performances, local vendors, arts and craft activities and food trucks are also on display.

For the festival’s 36th year, a Pride pavilion has been added along with the Indigenous and Chinatown pavilions.