OTTAWA -- Rowers at Dow's Lake are trading in their paddles for ice picks to raise money for local charities.
Teams were out on a cold and windy Friday, getting ready to take part in the Ottawa Ice Dragon Boat Festival.
The race, which attracts more than 1,200 athletes from around the world, features boats equipped with skate-like blades on the hull.
"I wanted to get out here and give this strange sport a try," says Paul Paradane, who travelled from upstate New York to join the team DragonZone from Vancouver BC. "We have participants form Qatar, New York and all over ... It’s a great opportunity to have some fun."
The festival, a part of WInterlude is also an opportunity to raise money for the Ottawa Dragon Boat Foundation, which has raised more than $20,000 from this event.
“Our mission is to help charities right here in our community,” says Shelley Freake-Smyth, Director of Fundraising and Teams. “This year, we’re supporting 20 local charities ... each month, we’re giving to a different charity all throughout the year."
The festival's main event, a 200-metre race down a section of the Rideau Canal, will happen Saturday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ending with a concert from Kira Isabella at 9:30 p.m..
Complete event schedule:
Friday, Feb. 7
- 9 a.m. - Practice races and demonstrations
- 11 a.m. - DJ NOYPI
- 5:45 p.m. - Success Lion Dancers
- 6 p.m. - Opening Ceremony: Chinese Canadian Children’s Choir of Canada
- 6:30 p.m. - Indigenous Experiences: Drums and Dancers
- 7 p.m. - ODBF Shiver & Giver Fundraising races
- 7:30 p.m. - Awards
- 8 p.m. - Old Man Grant
- 9:30 p.m. - Dwayne Gretzky
Saturday, Feb. 8
- 8:30 a.m. - Success Lion Dancers
- 9 a.m. - 100th Regiment of Foot
- 9 a.m. - Racing begins
- 10 a.m. - Sébastien Lemay
- 11 a.m. - Royal Princesses
- 11 a.m. - DJ NOYPI
- 3:10 p.m. - Semi-finals
- 4:50 p.m. - 2nd IIDBF World Dragon Boat Championships
- 6 p.m. - Closing awards ceremony
- 6:45 p.m. - Boyhood
- 8 p.m. - Silent Winters
- 9:30 p.m. - Kira Isabella
