page_title: Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival
section_title: Entertainment
hierarchical_section_title: Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival / Festival events / Entertainment
caption_attribution_description: English: festival crowd at night
context_page_description: The Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival is an annual festival of dragon boat races in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Begun in 1994, the festival attracts 5,500 paddlers, 200 teams and over 75,000 spectators from all around the world. It is one of the largest dragon boat festivals in North America. The event is held in Mooney's Bay, where the Rideau River and Rideau Canal split. Mooney's Bay is where many of the Ottawa-based teams train, using the Rideau Canoe Club facilities.
  In 1998, the Charity Cup Challenge was added as a fundraising component for the Ottawa Dragon Boat Foundation. Founded in 2004 as a way to raise funds for local charities. The challenge has raised over CA$4 million in support of 41 charities. The festival has also initiated a number of eco-friendly projects, making it both the first carbon-neutral festival in North America and the first Ecologo-certified festival in the world. The 2019 edition of the festival took place on June 20–23.
context_section_description: Each year, the festival provides a series of free concerts with a focus on showcasing talent local to the Ottawa region and Canada. Notable acts have included Sam Roberts, Broken Social Scene, Matt Mays and The Sheepdogs. The festival also has strolling performers, food vendors, artisans, exhibitors and cultural performances.
caption: Concert spectators at the 2016 festival
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