Category Archives: Summer

Chinatown, Festival, Summer

Chinatown Street Festival

Chinese Cultural Centre (West Side)
Address: 197 1 St SW, Calgary
Chinatown from Google Earth
Map from Google Highlighting many businesses

Located downtown on the south side of the center street and extending a few blocks is Calgary’s Chinatown.  This is not Calgary’s first Chinatown, it’s in fact the third, and it’s perhaps why it is a small area.  The first around 1888 was on 8th Ave SE. After a smallpox outbreak, the area was burned down to prevent its spread.  Around 1901 and until 1910 an area rose up on either side of the CPR tracks around 1st Street SW. In 1910 the Canadian Pacific Railway announced they would build a hotel next to the downtown station.  This caused the land values to rise and its owners sold the land out from under the tenants of this Chinatown area.  Wanting to prevent further moves a number of wealthy Chinese established the new Chinatown at Center Street and 2nd Ave.  All the remaining Chinese residents and businesses quickly relocated there.  By 1950 the area had grown to encompass ten city blocks, and in 1974 city council officially recognised twenty hectares as Chinatown.  This area has also influenced the commercial street over the river, with many businesses also catering to and owned by Chinese people.  In 1980 many older buildings were demolished and the area underwent redevelopment.  A highrise residential building was built and the Chinese seniors center.  The Chinese Cultural Center was added to the area in 1992.  Again not a large area but with a strong push to maintain its unique heritage and atmosphere, it became the Chinatown BIA in 2015.

Oi Kwan Foundation
Address: 200 1 St SW
Lions Outside the Chinese Cultural Centre
Address: 215 2 Ave SW
Inside the Chinese Cultural Centre
Address: 197 1 St SW, Calgary
Chinatown mural, painted over 10 days in Aug 2022, 135′ wide and 55′ high
Address: 116 2 Ave SW

On Saturday, August 19th my wife and I with our two kids went down to the Chinatown Street Festival.  We went years ago in ‘19 but that time we arrived late in the day and missed all of the entertainment.  This time we made sure to arrive in time for the starting parade and to see the Lion dance.

Chinatown restaurants along Centre Street
Address: 233 Centre Street Sotuh
Chinese Freemasons & Dat Coon Club
Address: 116 3 Avenue SE
Chinatown’s BIA Poster for the Street Festival

I had seen some notices on social media about street and parking lot closures for the event, but being downtown savvy I already knew not to try to park close.  We walked a few blocks from Eau Claire which gave us the opportunity to walk through the Chinese Cultural Center.  Once on the other side, we were a block from the heart of Chinatown.  Still, this was too far for our youngest who would rather we parachute directly to events.

Once there we found the usual atmosphere of any street festival with tents lining each side of the street.  There were ethnic food vendors and music performances.  There were tents from some import stores within Dragon City Mall with numerous anime-related collectibles as well as many stockers related to things I wasn’t familiar with.  My son and daughter were both drawn to backpacks with figures on them, but my daughter quickly turned to an intricate day planner with stickers. 

Opening Parade at Center St down 3rd Ave SE
Guzheng performance on 3rd Ave SE
TD Bank is a sponsor of the Festival
They had a tent outside the Far East Shopping Centre
Address: 132 3rd Ave SE
Kall Mart Gifts Market on 3rd Ave SE
Kall Mart Gifts Market on 3rd Ave SE
Kall Mart Gifts Market on 3rd Ave SE

My son really enjoyed looking at these little plushies also at Kall Mart Gifts

On the other end of the event was a space with activities for kids, where my son was drawn to a bouncy castle.  My daughter took part in a diamond dot activity.  As well there was a spot to learn to make ballon animals and play street hockey.

The tents extended down 3rd Ave Se to the Harry Hays Bldg
At the end of this block was where the bouncy tent was and the kids activity area
The kids activity area, extendeding down 1 St SE
My daughter enjoyed the craft area with Diamond Dotz

In one of the area’s regular packing lots was a stage surrounded by food vendors.  I would have liked to have gotten something, but in preparation for hungry and therefore cranky kids, we had gone for brunch before coming to the event.  This however didn’t stop my daughter from wanting to try a Strawberry Mochi that she had heard so much about at school.

In addition to the Lion dance the stage also has musical performances and other dancers as well as martial arts demonstrations.

This is the stage area in the parking lot behind the Dragon City Mall
Address: 3rd Ave & 1 st St SE
This was a great to watch, I only wish I could have had a better view
There was a lot of various entertainment and everything was easy to hear
Here were ost of the food vendors and the area to sit
Address: 3rd Ave & 1 st St SE
The festival begand here outside the Silver Dragon Restaurant
Address: 106 3 Ave SE
Calgary Jiang Zhe Shanghai
Address: 114 3 Ave SE

If you would like to attend next year’s festival I would encourage you to also park at Eau Claire to avoid the chaos of the area.  Before coming down decide if you would like to get food at the festival.  Which, unlike something like Lilac Fest, has much smaller lines, and has tables to sit at.  I really appreciated that part, I like getting to sit and not eat off my lap on a bench.  I would also suggest seeking out the entertainment schedule in advance to know what’s going to be happening.  I would hope that in future years they have a better stage to allow greater lines of sight because it doesn’t take much before no one else can see.  And they have too much going on to let that happen.

Chinese Cultural Centre (East Side)
Address: 197 1 St SW, Calgary

Attending from eleven thirty to two o’clock, we left just before our son was done with the whole event.  All in all, we really enjoyed ourselves.  Our daughter and I would like to return to walk 2nd Ave, get lunch and visit Dragon City Mall.

If you’d like to read more about Calgary’s Chinatown, Avenue Magazine has a great article from September 2021.

A Look at the Past, Present and Future of Calgary’s Chinatown
Park, Summer, Winter

Bowness Park

Bowness Park MapDownload

My earliest experience with Bowness park was after buying a bike around 2002, I headed out and went west along the river.  I passed through numerous parks, Bowness park had a festival or something going on, music over speakers, and BBQs everywhere.  I however just kept pedaling.

Talking about Bowness Park and it’s origins require discussing Bowness as a whole and Calgary’s former “Municipal Railway”.  Going back to the late 1800’s the land was used for ranching but that all changed in 1911.  John Hextall divided up the area into what he called Bowness Estates.  Being just six miles west of Calgary he envisioned an exclusive residential suburb.  In exchange for the City of Calgary running a streetcar line to his development he donated two islands on the Bow for use as a park, now known as Bowness Park.  I think it’s interesting how many of the city’s parks date back to this time and come from donations.

While as a development Bowness languished until after the second world war.  Bowness Park however was extremely popular with Calgarians.  In the 1920’s and 30’s as many as 25,000 would ride the streetcars out to Bowness Park during summer weekends.  The service was maintained from 1913 through to the 1950’s when automobile ownership changed everything.

After the 2013 flood, the park was closed for repairs and redesign.  The west end of the park reopened in 2014, and the east in 2016.  The lagoon was redesigned, the parking lot was moved to the center of the island, while flood mitigation was added along the park’s shorelines.

bowness-design-planDownload

Today the park is a popular place for picnics and water activities, featuring many amenities.

  • Tea house (operated by Seasons of Bowness)
  • Boat rentals (operated by UofC Outdoor Centre)
  • Lagoon
  • Train ride (operated by UofC Outdoor Centre)
  • Playground
  • Pathways
  • Skate rentals (operated by UofC Outdoor Centre)
  • Ice shinny rink
  • Curling rink
  • Fire pits and BBQ stands
  • Picnic sites and shelters
  • Washrooms
  • Bow River access
  • Wading pool
  • Cross-country skiing
  • 500 stall parking lot

Our visits to the park have been all about the splash park and playground. I hope this year we can rent one of the peddle boats.

Four our kids it’s all about the splash park. Which includes a concession and washrooms.

Our last trip last year had included a significant visit to the playground.

There is a miniature train that runs around the park, while our son was too little last year I hope he can enjoy it this year.

In my top three for family outings. This is simply one of the amazing parks in the city.

Attraction, Downtown, Festival, Summer

What Stampede means to me

What Stampede means to me?  An expression of city spirit and western heritage.

It’s the middle of this year’s Stampede, and I haven’t been to the grounds, nor do i intend to.  You might assume I don’t like Stampede, or that I’m one of the folks who only talks of leaving town during the annual event.  However, this wouldn’t be true at all.

I moved to Calgary in ‘99 not knowing much about it.  “The Big Four” didn’t mean anything to me. The historical ties to the CP Rail, I knew nothing about.  Oil booms going back nearly a hundred years and the impact on the cities prosperity I had no knowledge of.  I’m from the interior of B.C. where it’s all about Gold, Silver and Coal mines. Ghost towns are all over B.C. and the signs of busier times.  

My first Stampede I didn’t go to the grounds and resisted the overflowing spirit around the city.  I’m not one for “Western” culture, I’d only been on a horse twice for a total of a half hour. However history does interest me, especially history I can see.  How did things come to be the way they are, there’s always a story. The history of Calgary is about pioneering a new way of life. That can be said across Canada, and even North America.  However I don’t live across the continent I live here, so here is where I can see history’s influence on today. The more I learned about my new home’s history the more I was caught up in that pioneering spirit, and I believe it still resides here today.  To me the Stampede represents a glamorous romanticized version of our history.

You can tell me the Stampede is only about partying and drinking.  You can tell me the Stampede only represents cruelty to animals. You can tell me it’s a fraud to western culture with urban city folk pretending me be cowboys for ten days.  You can also tell me Stampede is just an overblown and overpriced grab for tourists. I’ll agree with every one of those statements, from a certain point of view. But I’ll also say you’ve only experienced one aspect of the Stampede.  It represents so many different things, to different people and different industries. You can be a big fan and not know all the aspects to it.

For me, it is an expression of city spirit and western heritage.  We celebrate it to say this is where we come from and that spirit is still alive here.  So does this mean I’m a big fan of the Stampede? Do I go to the grounds every year? Nope.  But I do like what it represents. Coming from a small town, civic pride was important. We as a community took pride in our town, what it represented, where it came from, who built it, and what we had achieved.  It was only natural to have city events and celebrations. You can have a city celebration to commemorate a city’s founding. Why don’t we just do that? Because, we’re celebrating more than our city’s history, it’s a collective history of the west.  

In 2012 the Stampede celebrated 100 years of Stampeding.  Technically it has only been running annually since 1924, but it’s origins can be traced to 1886.  It was begun by the Calgary and District Agricultural Society, to promote Calgary, western expansion and agricultural ingenuity.  I think that is still something to celebrate together as a city. Don’t complain to me that traffic is bad during Stampede, that hotels are expensive, or that all tourists are bad drivers.  People are celebrating our home, any city in the world is going to be busy when it hosts a major event. I’m proud to have an event to host for the world. Proud that we have more than the Stampede to be known for, but that the Stampede is how we celebrate our city.  

Stampede spirit isn’t confined to the grounds of the Stampede in Victoria Park it’s all around.  When I see the first Stampede decorations going up at the end of June I smile because that’s our city spirit on display.  There are families with long standing traditions of watching the parade together. For others it’s all about the midway rides, of the grandstand show.  I’ve never yet seen the chuckwagon races live but I will. Why? I have no history or connection to agriculture or cattle. But it’s where I live, where I choose to live, where I’m proud to live.  I like the Stampede, I look forward to the city’s expression of it, the unity of common experience, I love what it represents to so many.

When you’re new here it may not mean anything to you, but it likely will, especially if you can get past the county music.

Events that make up the Stampede

Parade – Held the first Friday in July and kicking of the event is the Stampede Parade

Rodeo – Technically this is what it’s all about.  One of the largest of its kind in the world covering six major events,  bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, saddle bronc and bareback riding – and four novice events – junior steer riding, novice bareback, novice saddle bronc and wild pony racing.

Rangeland Derby – This the chuckwagon race perhaps the most iconic event of the Stampede.

Grandstand Show and the Stampede Showband – Held each night on the grounds this is world class entertainment with song and dance to acrobatic performance ending with a nightly firework display.

Exhibition – The agricultural exhibition began in 1886, made up of 50 farm and ranch displays and competitions.  

Midway – The midway is what most people talk about when they say “the grounds” with a mixture of rides and carnival games.  There are two concert areas. Nashville North, a huge party tent (with lines even longer) is a country music venue. Next is the Coca-Cola stage, where there’s family entertainment during the day and rock and pop acts at night.  Lastly, the Saddledome host headline acts.

Market – Located in the BMO center it’s 410,000 sq ft of retail space with vendors selling everything imaginable, with a featured area called the Western Oasis.

 

17th Ave, Attraction, Blog, Festival, Restaurant, Summer

Summer at last!

After a winter like that Summer is finally here.  We’ve been out visiting our favorite parks and spent nearly two hours at one close to home.  Our daughter is happy to not be wearing giant coats and boots, but she’s not the only one. We want to box up our winter clothes, then put those boxes in a trunk and then store that trunk in someone’s garage in the suburbs.

4th Street overflows with our city’s biggest festival. From 13th Ave all the way to 26th Ave. Lilac Fest is this Sunday 10am – 6pm.

Lilac Fest returns to 4th street in Mission this weekend!  We’ll be going down as a family with a goal of more than walking around.  Our daughter has been every year since she was born, but this year I hope we can hear some bands and enjoy more than just a hotdog.

Road construction on 17th resumed, from May 1st to Stampede. Then breaks for Summer and picks up after labor day. The Current phase sees the avenue ripped up from 4th St to 7th St.

Meanwhile construction of 17th resumed at the beginning of May and will go hard until Stampede begins.  We’re visiting all of our favorites places like Steeling Home, Analog Coffee and 1410. Of note we were at 1410 for brunch on a hot Sunday where the rooftop patio was 19 degrees at 10:30am.  That day my father was in town and we took a walk from Mission along the Elbow River to Ft. Calgary and the East Village. The pathways along there are far from busy but it’s a walk I’ll enjoy taking again.

Stock photo of 1410’s showing 1410’s excellent rooftop patio.

The was April the 28th, by far the hottest day we’d had yet! Try the French Toast.

In other 17th Ave happenings, Butter Block bakery opened back in February.  Situated in the Devenish building, they are a proper Bakery offering treats for pickup.  It took us a few months to make it over there, and when we did it was late in the day with few options left.  We will be back on a less busy Saturday morning.

Butter Block is located here, in the historic Devenish building.

Roosevelt is gone, I’ve added them to my list for a future article about places you should have tried before they disappeared.  (It’s a long list with some outstanding places on it) In its place is Hostel. Is it still a 933 Group restaurant? I have no idea.  My daughter and I visited Hostel last Thursday, while it’s interior is not my style in the least they have of course the same patio. Here you’ll find all food items are $10 and drinks are $5.  Check them out and I hope to fill you in on our experience shortly.

The patio at the new “Hostel” “So now that we’re on the Patio what do we do?

With Summer upon us, we’ll be enjoying all our usual urban spots but also venturing out to new places near and far from the core.  Our daughter is at the perfect age for Calaway Park so you can bet we’ll be there. At the opposite end of the spectrum is our favorite Riley Park, we plan on being there a great deal this Summer.

This was taken on my third trip to Calaway, and our daughter’s first. All have been fun visits but this was the first time I was a Dad.

Riley Park, two previous years we visited this oasis once a year, then last year it was six visits.

Summer means Ice Cream, I feel a future article coming on, “ Urban Ice Cream” or “Choosing Rocky Road”.  Another visit for our family with be the Zoo and the new Panda exhibit. We’ll be there soon, but not really in a hurry, we’ll wait for the initial crowds to lessen.  If that’s even possible.

Typical ice cream line at “Made by Marcus” day or night.

Look forward to some future posts, I’m working on an article about playgrounds in the inner city, and parks & pathways and of course highlighting restaurant experiences.

I hope to have an article about our city’s large parks in the coming weeks. This is at “Pearce Estate Park” in Inglewood.

Have you tried your luck at the track? Make your way to Century Down Race Track and Casino. We visited last year on an open house day with a tour and our daughter saw many cool things.

Skyline Luge wasn’t nearly as scary as someone worried. I’ll have an article about our adventure later this Summer.

East Village Junction’s Pop-Up Retail Park has returned for another year. Open Monday from Noon till 8pm, and Sat & Sun 10am till 6pm. Check it out at 439 8th Ave SE.

East Village Junction’s Pop-Up Retail Park has returned for another year. Open Monday from Noon till 8pm, and Sat & Sun 10am till 6pm. Check it out at 439 8th Ave SE. Expect entertainment and food trucks, check their site for scedules.

 

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Eau Claire, Festival, Summer

Taste of Calgary

  • 2017 was Taste of Calgary’s 20th Year
  • Located at Eau Claire’s Plaza
  • Runs for four days, Thursday – Sunday, 11am – 9pm
  • https://www.tasteofcalgary.com/
  • Google Pics: Link
  • Watch this page for updates as we get closer to the 2018 Taste of Calgary

Taste of Calgary is an outdoor food festival where you can enjoy samplings from a variety of Calgary’s unique restaurants.  Not limited to just food, there are also many participants from Calgary’s local craft beers.  While enjoying a variety of food and drinks you can enjoy musical entertainment from the stage.

The map and guide

Admission to the festival grounds is free and includes access to the main stage.  The only cost is for tickets, at one dollar each.  Food costs are then set by the vendors, this is anywhere from 2-5 tickets.

I hadn’t been to Taste of Calgary in many years, I’d enjoyed it before but somehow hadn’t made it back.  This summer we changed that, with family in town we thought it would be a great outing.

One of several ticket booths

We parked only a few blocks away from Eau Claire, which after 6pm is free in the area.  The area was really busy but not to the point of uncomfortable congestion.  There were several ticket booths and we waited very briefly in line to get our own.  Ticket sales are CASH ONLY, no debit or credit.  

This helps keep costs down for the organizers, however given the number of years the festival’s been running, and the organization of everything I was really expecting to be able to pay with debit.  There were ATM’s on site, but with all booths only taking tickets what would the point be in taking out cash for a single point of purchase.

There was more than just food

Food Trucks were also on site, participating and accepting coupons

With a map/guide from the ticket booth you could plan what you want to try or just wander around and see what grabs your attention.  The festival was laid out well, and easy to get around.  There were lots of garbage and recycling areas.  We were there on the first night and there were some gaps where it appeared participants hadn’t set up yet.  No worries however as there were still lots of options.

The beer garden and stage area

Paper St. ‘s Booth

Paper St. Nashville Hot Chicken Sliders: Buttermilk fried chicken tossed in hot sauce, coleslaw, pickle, pepperjack & chipolte ranch (4 Tickets)

Naina’s Kitchen

Naina’s Kitchen – Stuffed Burger: Mozza and Cheddar (5 Tickets)

Naina’s Kitchen – Regular Fried (2 Tickets)

Naina’s Kitchen

Pza – Pizza (4 Tickets)

Pza – Pizza (4 Tickets)

While we were there “Matt Blais” was playing on the stage.  This is entirely subjective but I thought he was excellent, and just the right approachable rock for such an event.

Matt Blais

I’ve read a bunch of people’s opinions from Facebook and Google.  The mixed opinions seem to be about the variety of participants, quality of food, and price, essentially everything.  

Well price, is it cheap?  No I don’t think it is.  But you can be choosy where you spend your tickets, because there are deals to be had.  However I don’t feel you go to an event like this expecting things to be cheap.  I wandered around and picked what I wanted to eat, not what was cheap.   The average price was 4-5 tickets for an item, and for some thing 5 tickets was a lot for what you got.  However for some 5 tickets got you a lot, and there were items for 3 tickets.  Most drinks were 2 tickets, while on the beer sampling side it ranged from 2-3 tickets each.  If it’s a major concern they do list the full menu and prices on the website.  You could easily look it over and plan in advance.  Understand these are samplings, think finger food appetizers, some are larger but the general idea is “a taste”.

Quality of the food?  Everything I had was excellent, my food was hot and tasty.  This is a dynamic environment and if things weren’t hot I’d be inclined to forgive it.  However quality, to me means freshness and quality cuts of meat.  Everything I had was great.

Variety?  I can’t entertain a criticism of this, there is a great variety.  You can have something entirely pedestrian or go out outside the regular with Taste of Calgary.

17th Ave, Festival, Mission, Summer

4th Street Lilac Festival

  • Lilacfest is on Sunday June 2, 2019
  • This is the 29th year for the Lilac Festival
  • Along 4th St SW, Between 13 Ave & Elbow Dr
  • 10am to 6pm
  • Website: https://www.lilacfestival.net/

Lilac Fest, to many it’s the start of summer, it the biggest festival in Calgary.  Lilac Fest is a one day event located on 4th street from 13th Ave, south of the downtown core to Elbow drive on the south edge of Mission.  The festival begins with a parade at 10am going down 4th street.  

It runs from 10am to 6pm and features over 500 booths.  These booths are everything from food, crafts, clothes, collectables, imported items, to community organizations.  There are several bands playing on stages, several restaurants with fenced of patios for alcohol.   There is everything you can imagine to see.

I really enjoy Lilac Fest, I like walking from one end to the other getting some street food and seeing everyone glad that summer is finally here.  We’ve brought my daughter every year since she’s been born.  That means one year being pushed in her bassinette, another wearing her in a backpack, another her stumbling along and being picked up repeatedly, and now this year, just trying to keep up to her.

There are lots of activities for kids, from facepainting and games to trampoline jumping.  All of which I hope she can enjoy next year, most things are tough for a little one.  However there are kids everywhere, there are pets everywhere, and people, people, people.  

Don’t expect to park close, but it can be surprising how close you can get just a few streets from 4th.  With all the people there is an army of volunteers keeping the streets litter free and helping people find their way around.  There are multiple bin recycling stations everywhere, with those volunteers helping you use the right bin for you napkin, plate and drink container.  There is a lost kid station, that thankfully I’ve never needed to put through it’s paces.  

 

Festival, Summer

Dragon Boat Race & Festival

  • 2016 celebrated 25 years of Dragon Boat Racing in Calgary
  • Located at North Glenmore Park
  • Racing on the Glenmore Reservoir
  • Friday 1pm – 7pm
  • Saturday 7am – 6pm
  • Sunday 7am – 6pm
  • Kid Zone 10am – 3pm
  • Held on the second weekend in August
  • Website calgarydragonboatsociety.com
  • Watch this page for updates as we get closer to the 2018 Festival

Dragon Boat Racing has its historical origins in ancient China some 2000 years ago.  The traditional historic boats were paddled with 50 paddlers as opposed to today’s with 20 paddlers.  Traditional dragon boat racing continues in China, coinciding with the 5th day of the 5th Chinese lunar month.

Calgary’s Dragon Boat Race & Festival is held each year on the second weekend in August.  The Calgary Dragon Boat Society with other organizations in Canada are part of the IDBF which is made of 88 other nations representing dragon boat racing worldwide.

Calgary’s dragon boat races are 500 meters long, held on the Glenmore Reservoir and launched from North Glenmore Park.  

A dragon boat team is composed of 22 people.  20 paddlers in pairs facing forward.  1 drummer or caller who faces the paddlers and maintains unison.  1 Sweep or steerer who faces forward and controls the boat from the rear.  Dragon boats are 40+ feet long with a dragon head at the bow and tail at the stern.

—-

Prior to attending the race and festival for the first time in 2016 I had next to no knowledge of it.  Having grown up in BC, I believe I saw dragon boats on Vancouver’s news once before but that’s it.  I looked forward to seeing the boats in person and learning more.

First of all the Calgary Dragon Boat Society makes it easy to attend with a shuttle from the Grey Eagle Resort & Casino parking lot to North Glenmore Park.  Their site suggests using it, and I have to agree.  While the festival isn’t the largest, it’s attendance is still beyond what the parking lots can handle.  The buses run frequently, I’d guess every fifteen minutes or less.

The festival grounds are spread out with lots of space, separated into two areas.  First is the actual race area at the Glenmore Reservoir this is based around the Calgary Rowing Club’s building.  Next is the festival grounds at the park, composed of a main stage for presentations and entertainment, a food truck circle, beer gardens and VIP tent, kids area and the race teams tents.

I’d say things are well organized and everything goes smoothly.  There is a lot of seating around the stage, but two more rows would be even better.  Also as this year was particularly hot, it’s too bad there couldn’t be some more covered areas.  Lastly, seating to eat at is lacking.  There is the VIP tent however what if I want something from a food truck.  Standing in the heat and balancing my plate as I try to eat, or sitting in the hot grass and closing my beverage every time I take a sip to be sure it doesn’t fall over and spill is hardly ideal.  If there could be 20 picnic tables under some huge open sided tent all would be remedied.  Someone has made sure there are lots of recycling bins, portable toilets and handwash stations.

My guess is there are nearly forty tents for the racing teams to keep their stuff at.  This area is a busy hub of activity with teams coming and going and readying themselves.  You’ll find teams representing various associations, corporate teams, and the Women’s Breast Cancer Survivors team.

We attended on Saturday (the first day) and before the racing began there we a number of speeches welcoming and thanks people followed by traditional Chinese lion dancing.

There is a schedule posted on the website that I referred to a few times, as I couldn’t find a version posted at the festival.  I felt there should have been a large schedule banner at the stage and down as the racing stands.  Still there is a loud PA system calling out the races and what’s happening at any given time.  This can be heard from the festival grounds as well, so you always know what’s happening on the water.

There was a large assortment of food trucks to choose from, as well as ice cream and old cold treats to combat the heat.  We made an effort to bring some cold drinks that I knew my daughter would like, and we wouldn’t have to wait for, and pay a premium for.  That being said, I don’t think any of the prices were out of line.

The kids area had two Springfree trampolines and a bouncy castle, as well as face painting.  These are also all free, however the trampoline time in brief and the face painting line is long.  That being said there’s nothing stopping you from visiting these activities multiple times as we did.  

Down at the waterfront the racing is intense, it’s immediately visible that a team must be highly coordinated.  A few of the races had clear winners from the start as better teams were immediately apparent.  However in one of the races we watched, the competition for second place was intense and exciting.   In each race there are four to six teams participating, they first get organized at the dock and then set out.  While this is going on the previous race is taking place, and when it ends those teams return to the dock.  This way there are always teams either getting into position and racing, or teams coming on and off the boats at the dock.

I enjoy seeing all the team spirit exhibited by the competitors and encouragement from the spectators.  It really makes for a great weekend of fun in the sun.  I don’t know anyone competing so I don’t have that element to enjoy in the festival however I hope to bring some friends along next year to share in the fun and spectacle.