Festival Day

The 19th annual Barrie Dragon Boat Festival will be held on Saturday, August 19, 2023 at Heritage Park in Barrie! 

Learn more about what to expect on Festival Day using the links below. 

Location Details

The Barrie Dragon Boat Festival is located at Heritage Park in Barrie, Ontario; see our map with main roads on how to get there. 

Please note that there is some confusion between Centennial Park, and Heritage Park. Heritage Park is off of Simcoe Street, and to the east of the City of Barrie landmark, the Spirit Catcher. 

Heritage Park 
6 Simcoe St., Barrie ON, L4M 1A1  

Team Village: on grass in Heritage Park in front of large pond (facing gazebo) 
Loading Docks: City of Barrie Marina (adjacent to Team Village) 
Races: on Kempenfelt Bay, parallel to the shore of Heritage Park  

Parking 

Parking is available throughout Downtown Barrie. 

 

 

Schedule of Events

Schedule of Events

Time What Where
6:30am  Team Registration Opens  Registration Desk
   Tim Horton's Fill the Cup for Future   Branches Open  
7:00am   Team Captains Meeting with Alkame  Heritage Park Gazebo
   Waking of the Dragon Ceremony  Festival Docks 
7:45am  First Heat Begins *Schedule Avail. 48 Hours Before Event  
 9:00am  Library on the Bay – Family Literacy Activities *See full Schedule Below  Tim Kids Area
 TBD  Memory Moment  Heritage Park Pond Stage
 TBD  Second Heat Begins  
TBD  Final Heat Begins  
 TBD  Awards & Closing Ceremony   Heritage Park Pond Stage
 TBD  Paddlers Reception  

Library on the Bay - featuring fun, family friendly activities in the Tim Kids Area!

Time What Where
9:00am  TBD  Tim Kids Area
9:30am    
10:00am    
10:30am    
11:00am    
11:30am    
12:00pm    
12:30pm    
1:00pm    
1:30pm    
2:00pm    

First Heat Schedule

Alkame First Heat Schedule - Available in August

Awakening the Dragon Ceremony

The Dragons come alive bright and early on Festival morning!   

Each year, we begin our day with the traditional Awakening the Dragon Ceremony at the festival docks. The ceremony is hosted by the Library’s CEO, who is joined by a small group of special guests that take part in the Eye Dotting Ceremony. The guests paint dots in the dragons eyes, waking them up to competition and calling on the strength of the dragon to protect the boats and their crews.  

The Awakening the Dragon Ceremony typically begins around 7:00am. 

Hand reaching down to paint the eye on a dragon boat head

Memory Moment

For years, there has been a strong association between dragon boat racing and breast cancer survivors. Anyone on the waterfront during the Barrie Dragon Boat Festival will quickly see the connection at our festival.   

Each year, the Festival is honoured to have the presence of various cancer survivor teams - promoting awareness of the disease, demonstrating the vitality that survivors can have in their lives after facing cancer, and raising money for cancer care and research.  

Festival organizers include a Memory Moment ceremony to honour this connection. During this event, Barrie’s Ribbons of Hope and Candlelighters Simcoe take a moment to honour the many lives of those who are no longer among us, while sharing their stories and placing pink & yellow carnations into the water.   

The Memory Moment takes place immediately following all races in the first heat.  

Paddlers gather around the Heritage Park pond with carnations

Festival Awards

There are many winners at the Barrie Dragon Boat Festival! We have a variety of awards, ranging from Challenge Cups and Divisional Awards to Rookie of the Year, Best Dressed, and Spirit Award. Learn more about our Festival Awards

Close up of trophies and medals on a table

Race Day Live Updates

Alkame Live Link - Available in August!

Paddlers Reception

Details coming soon!