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The Tim Hortons Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival will take place June 19-21, 2026 on the Rideau River in the beautiful setting of Mooney’s Bay Park.The 2026 regatta is a premier race on the North American dragon boat calendar and is a Dragon Boat Canada (DBC) Race Series Event.
Registration is open! Teams include up to 30 members competing in community, corporate and competitive divisions over two days of racing.
Participants from all backgrounds and skill levels, from beginners to world champions, will have the opportunity to compete for greatness in a diverse range of divisions including one of the festival highlights, where DBC teams will go head to head in the highly competitive Sue Holloway Cup, named after Olympic medalist and Canadian Sports Hall of Famer for competitive teams who are registered with Dragon Boat Canada. Community teams will also hit the water to compete in the Breast Cancer Paddlers Cup, teams whose members are breast cancer survivors, Pride Challenge Cup, the first 2SLGBTQ+ dragon boat division in Canada, introduced in 2016 and two of the festival’s newest divisions, the Para Challenge Cup, teams whose members are para-athletes and the All Cancer Paddlers Challenge Cup, consisting of athletes of all genders and ages who are survivors of any type of cancer. Corporate teams will come together for a team building weekend (and friendly competition against other teams in their industry!) in various divisions including the Building & Development Challenge Cup, High Tech Challenge Cup, and Professional Services Challenge Cup. These divisions and many more are some of the highlights of the weekend's events.
The races attract teams from throughout North America. Mixed teams - are a mix of male and female paddlers, requiring a minimum of 8 female paddlers, Women's teams are made up of all female paddlers, with steer and drummers of either gender, Open teams have no specific gender requirements, are typically made up of male paddlers.
The festival takes place in the natural setting of Mooney’s Bay Park, where spectators and competitors can enjoy a beverage or some tasty treats from a variety of food trucks while shopping at a number of exhibitors!
The festival is looking forward to the races, fantastic festival food and welcoming teams, volunteers, exhibitors, sponsors and supporters back to Mooney’s Bay beach, all coming to an epic conclusion with the Official Closing Awards Ceremony on Sunday June 21.
Friday, June 19
5 PM - 9 PM
Saturday, June 20
7 AM - 6 PM
Sunday, June 21
7 AM - 6 PM
For Race Schedule visit dragonboat.net
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Mooney's Bay Beach, Mooney's Bay, 2960 Riverside Dr, Ottawa, ON K1V, Canada
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
