The Dragon Boat Festival has come and gone, and is seen as a success.
47 teams competed in Hong Kong-style races on Lake Victoria, where Stratford’s Ritz Dragons Team won their second festival race in a row.
Festival Chair Robert Ritz described the event as “absolutely fantastic.”
“The teams were doing well, we had a good number of our volunteers participating, both families of Rotarians and friends of Rotarians, and we also bring in groups that assist with loading and unloading the boats. Jubilee Christian Ministries helped us with road closure control, and construction helped us set up and tear down fencing around the beer tent.”
He said usually 2,000 people show up to the festival outside of the teams, with each team made up of 22 people plus extras, totaling over 1,000 participants.
“They go over the bridge and go back for every race, so that’s six times per person. Over 6,000 people went over the Patterson Island Bridge on the day of the event, which is one-fifth of Stratford’s population.”
The festival raised money for Stratford Rotary Club and its projects and activities.
Ritz said there was a dent in beer sales, two boat crashes (no injuries reported), and some volunteers who were putting people in and out of the boats left early.
He added that they’ll focus on how to manage these issues for next year’s festival.
