Dragon Boat Festival returns to Victoria Inner Harbour

Dragon Boat Festival returns to Victoria Inner Harbour

Published 1:00 pm Saturday, June 20, 2026

The Canada Dry Victoria Dragon Boat Festival brought sport, culture and entertainment to Victoria’s waterfront. (Nikhil Nikhil/Victoria News)

Participants race through Victoria’s Inner Harbour during the Canada Dry Victoria Dragon Boat Festival on June 20. (Nikhil Nikhil/Victoria News)

Paddlers compete during the Canada Dry Victoria Dragon Boat Festival at Ship Point in Victoria. (Nikhil Nikhil/Victoria News)

Cultural performances and community activities accompanied dragon boat racing in Victoria’s Inner Harbour. (Nikhil Nikhil/Victoria News)

Dragon boat races kicked off from Victoria’s waterfront during the annual festival. (Nikhil Nikhil/Victoria News)

The Canada dry Victoria Dragon Boat Festival returned to Victoria’s Inner Harbour on June 20, bringing together racers, performers and visitors together for a day of competition and cultural celebration.

About 30 teams took part in the annual event, with races beginning at 8 a.m. and continuing throughout the day. Festival activities opened to the public at 10 a.m., featuring live entertainment, food vendors, cultural demonstrations and a waterfront marketplace.

The festival was held earlier than usual this year, shifting from its traditional August date to the first weekend of summer because of scheduling conflicts with other major events in the region, including activities connected to the FIFA World Cup in Vancouver.

Dominic Lai from the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival Society said the timing change offered an opportunity to celebrate the start of summer while maintaining one of Victoria’s long-running cultural traditions.

Dragon boat racing traces its roots to ancient China and has spread around the world over thousands of years. The sport first arrived in Victoria in 1994 as part of celebrations connected to the Commonwealth Games and a farewell to Hong Kong before its transfer from British to Chinese rule. Since then, the festival has become an annual fixture on the city’s summer events calendar.

Beyond the races, visitors were treated to cultural performances, arts and crafts, local artisans and food trucks along the waterfront. Organizers also hosted what they described as Victoria’s largest waterfront pop-up patio, creating a festival atmosphere at Ship Point and throughout the Inner Harbour.

The event highlighted the connection between dragon boat racing and Chinese culture. Organizers partnered with the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society for special walking tours scheduled for June 21. The tours explore dragon imagery, folklore and the history of Victoria’s Chinatown, one of the oldest in Canada.

The Victoria Dragon Boat Festival Society says the event continues to celebrate sport, culture, diversity and community while fostering connections between Chinese traditions and local residents.

With colourful boats cutting through the harbour, cultural performances on shore and thousands expected to attend, the festival once again transformed Victoria’s waterfront into a gathering place for athletes, families and visitors marking the beginning of summer.