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32nd Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival makes waves at Mooney's Bay
32nd Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival makes waves at Mooney's Bay

CTV News

time11 hours ago

  • Entertainment
  • CTV News

32nd Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival makes waves at Mooney's Bay

Ottawa's annual Dragon Boat Festival is taking place at Mooney's Bay this weekend. CTV's Camille Wilson caught up with some of the attendees. The annual Dragon Boat Festival is back for it's 32nd year in Ottawa. The event is the largest festival of its kind in North America, drawing teams from all over the world. This year's festival has about 145 teams with 72 cities participating. Along with teams all across Canada, paddlers competed in at least two 500 metre races at Mooney's Bay on Saturday. 'The community side is just incredible because it brings together all walks of life,' says John Brooman, CEO and president of the Tim Hortons Dragon Boat Festival. 'It doesn't matter whether you're a first-time paddler or if you're on the national team. People are just out here having a wonderful time. It raises a ton of money for charity,' It is one of the biggest sporting and entertainment events in the nation's capital and is part of a larger Chinese cultural tradition that goes back 2,400 years. 'I grew up with the Dragon Boat Festival as a kid in the UK and I really loved it,' said attendee Kyan Cheng. 'I really wanted to take my three-year-old son to experience it for the first time here. I've talked about it and it's part of our culture. He's just really loving it.' Ottawa Dragonboat Festival The Arctic Char Dragon Boat team from The Netherlands getting ready to compete. (Camille Wilson/CTV News Ottawa) Sandy Foote, captain of Fleet of Foote, says his team has participated in the event from the very beginning. 'This is our 32nd year at the Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival. We come every year and have a lot of fun,' Foote said. 'It's our biggest festival that we do. We do seven festivals every year. This one is the best one.' The festival is raising more than $250,000 for charity this weekend and has raised more than $6 million over the years. The two-day celebration also includes exhibitors, food, a Breast Cancer Survivor Challenge, traditional flower ceremony and dance performances. 'It's great to see such big crowds out for this type of event,' said Chris Bell. 'Lots of big smiles on people's faces. It's been a good, good experience.' There is free admission to all the races and free parking at the Canada Post parking lot. Races are every 10 minutes and will run until Sunday.

City of Ottawa beaches open for the season. Here's what you need to know
City of Ottawa beaches open for the season. Here's what you need to know

CTV News

time18 hours ago

  • Climate
  • CTV News

City of Ottawa beaches open for the season. Here's what you need to know

Youssef Ismail, left, and Andre Gallant leap into the water to catch a frisbee tossed by a friend as they cool off at Britannia Beach in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Saturday marks the start of the season at City of Ottawa beaches. Mooney's Bay, Britannia, Westboro and Petrie Island beaches will be open for supervised swimming from noon to 7 p.m. daily until Aug. 24. It comes as the city prepares for its first summer heat wave with temperatures expected to soar to 35 C on Monday and 34 C on Tuesday. Swimmers may notice several changes at the beach this summer. A new flag system is being introduced to 'improve swimming safety and communication,' according to the city's website: Red over yellow: Lifeguards are present; designated swim zone. Green flag: Lifeguards are actively supervising. Red flag: Lifeguards not on duty. Ottawa Public Health will no longer be issuing daily 'no-swim' advisories as in previous years, opting to encourage swimmers to consider the risks before, during and after visiting the beach. Swimming is only recommended with a lifeguard present. Beach signs have been upgraded this year explaining the new flag system and to highlight water safety messaging. The new safety measures are being introduced following a 'lifesaving audit' conducted last year that made several recommendations to prevent drownings or serious injuries in the water. Changes will most be noticed at Britannia after four drownings were reported at the west end beach since 2020. Sloped riverbed areas will be marked with a lane rope and new buoy lines will be set 300 millimetres away from dredged zones. Ottawa Public Health will be conducting weekly e-coli testing at all beaches and will alert residents of the results on its website. As of Saturday, all city beaches meet the provincial standards. NCC beaches Beaches maintained by the National Capital Commission (NCC) opened last week. Lifeguards will be on duty at La Pêche Lake, Meech Lake and Phillippe Lake daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Sept. 1. Water will be tested weekly and swimming areas are marked by buoys. Water quality readings for all NCC beaches was 'excellent' or 'good' as of Saturday. Smith Beach at Phillippe Lake will be closed for the season due to ongoing rehabilitation work.

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