FAQ

General Festival Information:

When is the festival? June 22-25, 2023.

Where is the festival? See Directions

Where can I park?/How can I get to site? See Parking

Is there a fee to attend the festival? There is no site admission fee and it is open to the public.

Is this a family event? Yes, please visit the Family Fun section of our website.

Are dogs allowed? Mooney's Bay Park is a dog free park year round as designated by the City of Ottawa. Special Note: Properly identified service animals are permitted in City facilities, including parks that are designated as no dog parks.

What on site activities are there? Racing, Free Concerts on the Hillside Stage, Family Fun, fantastic food and a wide variety of exhibitors and so much more! Check out the Festival Schedule for all site activities.

What are the festival’s greening efforts? See Greening Efforts

Have team and paddler questions? See the Team FAQ

What should I bring? See the Insiders Guide For The Tim Hortons Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival.

What should I wear? See Festival Ready: With Matt Ready - Festival Survival

Is there a drop-off zone? Yes, the festival is providing a drop-off zone just inside the entrance to the volunteer parking lot on the north side of Hog’s Back Road (the Rideau Canal parking lot). Cars MUST NOT be left unaccompanied in this area.

PLEASE NOTE: There is no public parking available onsite. Parking will not be available at Mooney's Bay or on Riverside Drive on the weekend of the festival. Cars parked illegally in the surrounding areas will be ticketed and/or towed.

Can I park my bicycle on site? Free valet bicycle parking is available onsite. Help us help the environment and consider riding your bike to this year’s festival. Help even more by making a donation to our Foundation for this free service.

Will there be food and refreshments available on site? Yes, the festival provides two free hydration stations that provide water from the City of Ottawa in order to refill your water bottles throughout the event. We also encourage patrons to check out our food vendors at Consessionaires

Is alcohol served onsite? The festival grounds are fully licensed. Patrons must be 19 years of age or older to purchase alcohol. Proof of ID is required. Please note that NO outside alcohol is permitted onsite and will be confiscated by security upon entry to the festival grounds. Security bag checks will be in place at all entrances to the festival grounds.

When is the Opening Ceremony? See Opening Ceremonies

Is outside alcohol allowed? No, outside alcohol is not promitted at the festival.

Race Information:

When does the racing start? Races begin at approximately 8:00am on both Saturday and Sunday. Racing will finish up around 6:00pm on Saturday and 4:00pm on Sunday.

What happens if it starts raining? The festival and racing will go ahead if it is raining. Generally, the only time the racing is postponed is if lightning or high winds occur.

How long is the racing distance? Both Saturday races are 500m in length. Sunday’s race format will include 100m, 200m and 500m finals.

Where is the best view of the races? Bleachers will be available on the beach area near the finish line to allow spectators an opportunity to view the entire race from start to finish.

Do I need to be an experienced "paddler" to participate? No, all levels of paddlers are welcome. The majority of teams are recreational, but there are many experienced and competitive teams for those wishing to compete at a higher level. Two team practices with qualified coaches are included in the team registration fee.

How many people do we need to form a dragon boat team? There are 22 spots in the boat (16-20 paddlers, one steersperson, and one drummer). There are 30 spots available on your roster so that teams can also register up to eight spare paddlers. The minimum number of paddlers for the races is 16.

How can I register a team? Register your team through our online registration system, which only takes a few minutes to complete.

What information will I need before registering my team? In addition to your contact info as Team Captain, you will need to enter your team name and select your team category (mixed, women, or open).

How many males/females do I need on my team? All mixed teams must race with a minimum of 8 female paddlers (does not include steersperson/drummer). Open teams have no restrictions. Often composed of primarily male paddlers, but females may also paddle on the team as well. Open teams can have a drummer and/or steersperson of either gender. Please note: open teams are only eligible to participate in select Challenge Cups, please contact our office for further details. Women’s teams must race with all female paddlers, but can have a male drummer and/or steersperson.

Can a person paddle, steer or drum for more than one team? A paddler may be a member of and race for only one team per category. The categories are women, mixed and open. A steersperson/drummer may steer/drum for more than one team per category. PLEASE NOTE: It is each team's responsibility to manage conflicts that arise from paddlers racing on two teams. No delays in the race schedule will be allowed to accommodate any team member in transit between team boats and/or races.

How much is the entry fee? There are various entry fees based on when you register and which division you are competing in. Discounted rates available for out-of-town teams, teams representing charities, or teams competing in the Breast Cancer Paddlers, All Cancer Paddlers, Paradragons, Accessibility and Youth divisions.

How can I register if I do not have a team? If you would like to paddle, but don’t have enough people to form a team you can register as an individual and we will help place you on a team. Individuals will be asked to pay their fee after they have been placed on a team.

Who pays the team entry fee? Most payment options require full team fee payment upon registration. Team Captains would then collect the individual fees from each team member. There is also an option to allow team members to pay their own fee.

How can we pay? Payment is done online through our registration system by credit card. PLEASE NOTE: The registration fee is not a charitable donation and therefore not eligible for a tax receipt.

How much will this cost each team member? Depending on how many paddlers you have on your team will determine how much money you need to pay for your registration. Teams may book extra practices or purchase team t-shirts which may be an additional cost. Some teams try to acquire a sponsor to cover these expenses.

Is there a registration/refund deadline? Registration is complete when we reach 200 teams or May 31st . The refund deadline is 4:00pm on April 30th . There is an administration fee of 25% (+HST) for all refunds.

Do I need to sign a waiver? Yes, all team members are required to submit a completed waiver. Waivers are to be submitted electronically during the online registration process.

How do we book practices? Practices are held at the Rideau Canoe Club (RCC), the Ottawa River Canoe Club (ORCC) and Petrie Island Canoe Club (PICC). Two free practices with a coach are included in registration and extra practices may be booked at an additional cost. Visit our Practices section for more details about booking your practices.

Do we need a team t-shirt? All teams are encouraged to wear a team t-shirt or outfit at the festival, but it is not required. Many teams also wear team caps, face paint, temporary tattoos and themed costumes. An award will be presented for the most creative team t-shirt. The winning team will be announced during the Awards Ceremony held on Saturday.

Festival Weekend - Paddler Information:

Where will everything take place? All races will be held at Mooney’s Bay Park. The Tim Hortons Team Area will be set-up throughout the festival site for teams to set-up tents, etc. The Team Staging Tent will be available for teams to get ready for their races; teams are asked to be in the staging area at least half an hour before their race time.

What equipment do I need to bring? The festival will supply all boats and equipment including paddles and PFD's. However, if you have an approved PFD of your own and your favourite dragon boat paddle, you can use it.

What should I bring? Many teams bring beverages and snacks to have throughout the day. Food vendors will be on site with various types of food and beverages. You may also want to bring along some sunscreen and a lawn chair. Please note that outside alcohol is NOT permitted.

Is there somewhere I can put my stuff during the day? No, there are no lockers available on site. We recommend leaving valuables at home. We also recommend organizing a team friend or family member who can watch over any onsite valuables during your team’s races.

What should I wear? Fast drying shorts/shirts and sandals/sneakers are typically worn in the boat. You may also want to bring along a dry set of clothes, raincoat and hat.

Where can I park? / How can I get to site? The festival offers free parking at Canada Post Headquarters on Riverside Drive. OC Transpo services the Mooney’s Bay area as well; visit www.octranspo.com for local service schedule details.

Is there a drop-off zone? Yes, the festival’s drop-off zone is just inside the entrance to the volunteer parking lot on the north side of Hog’s Back Road (the Rideau Canal parking lot). Cars must NOT be left unaccompanied in this area. PLEASE NOTE: There is no public parking available onsite. Parking will not be available at Mooney's Bay or on Riverside Drive on the weekend of the festival. Cars parked illegally in the surrounding areas will be ticketed and/or towed.

Can I park my bicycle on site? Free bicycle parking is available onsite. Consider going green that weekend by riding your bike to this year’s festival. Help even more by making a donation to our charitable partner, Helping with Furniture, for this free service.

Where can my team "hang-out"? Can we bring a tent or shelter? The Tim Hortons Team Area will be marked off onsite for the exclusive use of the participants. Space for tents or tarps will be assigned based on order of registration payment (Team Captains will be contacted for site selection). Team site size is 10’ x 20’. Please note that City of Ottawa regulations dictate that nothing may be tied to the trees. Items left in this area are done so at your own risk. Your site will be reserved and numbered with the team site number that each team selects. Note: The Tim Hortons Team Area does not include the spectator area – no tents or tarps are permitted in the spectator area. Barbecues are not allowed onsite and there is a strict no outside alcohol and no onsite smoking as per city bylaws.

Can we display our company banner? Yes, company banners may be displayed on your Team Area site, but may not interfere with another team’s site. Banners are not permitted on boats.

When can we set-up our team site? Teams may set-up tents and bring in non-valuable items from 6:00am-2:00pm on Thursday, June 22nd and Friday, June 23rd . Please note that direct access via the gravel marina parking lot near the team area (north end of site, access off Hog’s Back Rd) is only accessible during these hours. After 2:00pm there is no direct parking available.

Can we leave our tent and chairs overnight? Yes, all tents and chairs can remain overnight. Please keep all items contained to your assigned team site. There will be overnight security, but please do not leave anything of particular value overnight.

Will there be food and refreshments available on site? Yes, numerous food vendors offer a variety of food and beverages throughout the weekend.

When is the Opening Ceremony? The Opening Ceremony will kick off this year’s festival on Friday, June 23rd at 7:00pm in the Paddler’s Paradise tent on the beach. Immediately followed by our top fundraising teams taking to the water in our Charity Challenge Cup races!

Race Information:

When does the racing start? Races begin at 8:00am on both Saturday and Sunday. Racing will finish around 4:30pm on Saturday and 4:00pm on Sunday.

When does my team race? The Saturday race schedule will be available on our website the week prior to the festival. It will also be emailed to teams and the schedule will include both staging times and race times. How many races will we compete in? All teams are guaranteed two races on Saturday. All teams will compete in one morning race and a second race in the afternoon. Top teams will advance to Sunday to compete in three additional races.