Cultural Programs and Concord Community Zone

Dragon boat comes from an ancient Chinese tradition that is equal parts racing and culture, but also a showcase of the local community. Join us on Championship Weekend and explore the interactions between tradition and the current-day multicultural communities that make up our social fabric.

June 22-23, 2024

NEW FOR 2024: Light up the Night – Vancouver’s first public drone show  |  June 22  |  ~9:30 PM in the skies above False Creek

The skies above False Creek come alive with Vancouver’s first public drone show in a celebration of local culture and music. Celebrating the first weekend of summer, the family-friendly show will begin as the sun sets over the Vancouver skyline, and can be viewed from around the North East False Creek basin and screens throughout the site.

Make it an full day at the Festival; catch dragon boat racing on the water until 6:30 PM, then grab a bite from one of the 25+ food trucks and a drink on the biggest waterfront licensed patio in the city, and catch Hey Ocean! and other artists on the TD Main Stage!

NEW FOR 2024: Concord Community Zone  |  Concord Pacific Presentation Centre/Finish Line

Draw for the Future Colouring Contest

Concord Pacific is bringing back its popular colouring contest, where children from ages 6 to 8 and 9 to 12 will have the chance to win one of two $3,600 RESP contributions. Advance registration recommended to participate: click here to sign up now!

Concord Community Zone Stage

Featuring a range of activities and shows, the Concord Community Stage’s two full days of programming will be sure to surprise and delight with musicians, dancers, magicians, and more! Concord Community Zone Stage schedule published in early June.

Family Activities

Visit the Concord Community Zone for complimentary face painting, balloon twisting, and other field games. Plus, grab a bite and catch the races from the food truck area in the zone and the new race livestream screen!

Bike Parking and Tune Ups

Leave the car at home; ride your bike down to the Festival, park it on-site, and get it tuned up while you’re here! Please note: tune up services are subject to technician availability and bookings. Additional bike parking is available at the Festival’s Quebec Street entrance, and at Creekside Community Centre.

Pavilion Programs –  |  TD Main Stage Zone

Chinatown Pavilion  |  With the support of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden

Learn about the deep traditions behind the dragon boat festival, and its origins in Vancouver’s Chinatown with family-friendly arts and craft activities, and displays from local community partner organizations based in Chinatown.

• Activities and Demonstration Times (10:00 AM-6:00 PM)
• Dragon Boat Festival Themed Arts and Crafts
• Interactive calligraphy demonstrations with Buddha Boards 
• Traditional Chinese Calligraphy Master demonstrations
• Tea Ceremony Demonstrations
• Fortune Telling Demonstrations
• Merchandise created by local Chinatown artists
• Guessing and matching games to test your knowledge of Chinese culture
• Community engagement booths from the Chinese Canadian Museum, Chinatown Storytelling Centre, Hon Hsing Athletic Club
• Hon Hsing Athletic Club Performances (roaming the site from 12:00-2:30 PM)
  

Indigenous Pavilion

The Festival is hosted on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands and waters of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. As part of our ongoing work to share our space with Indigenous communities and to honour the centuries of interconnection between Chinese and Indigenous communities, we are pleased to work with local Indigenous artists, elders, and organizations to program the Indigenous Cultural Pavilion. 

Activities and Demonstration Times (10:00 AM-6:00 PM)

• Live wood carving demonstrations with Squamish artist knakweltn/Darren Yelton
• Public mural painting with Miska Creative Society
• Indigenous designed and printed clothing/jewelry  
• Sweetgrass weaving and products 
• Wellness and self-care items made using local ingredients 

NEW FOR 2024: Pride Pavilion  |  In partnership with Vancouver Pride Society and community partners

Paddle with pride; we’re proud to add the Pride Pavilion for 2024 to our programming on-site. Paddling has been a place where the queer community can come together, including through teams and the Pride Cup. And as Vancouver gets set to host Canada Pride in August at Concord Pacific Place, the Festival is working with Vancouver Pride Society and its community partners to showcase queer sports leagues and teams operating in our community.

Activities and Demonstration Times (10:00 AM-6:00 PM)

• Canada Pride celebration information and ticket sales
• Pride button making and prize giveaway
• Drag queen photo booth
• Drawing station
• Pride merchandise
• Community engagement booths from Freerunners and Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tours

Medal Presentations  |  June 23  |  Medal Podium, TD Main Stage Zone

Join us starting at ~1:00 PM as the medals are awarded for the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival in each division and for each Grand Final race! New for 2024, racers can visit the Oddball tent after winning their medal to pick up a medal patch to add to their jersey to commemorate their results at the Festival.

Dragon Boat Public Art Program  |  TD Main Stage Zone and Olympic Village Zone

A special public art program is on display at the Festival, showcasing 9 different artists that created artwork around the theme of community, culture, and competition for the boats being used exclusively once a year during the Festival’s races. See the boats race on land, and see the artwork up close on land around the site! Artists include:

• Bagua Artist Association: Bedecked with Pearls and Glimmering Jade
• Carmen Chan: Rice and Rain
• Chairman Ting: Billion Buns
• Chepximiya Siyam/Chief Janice George and Skwetsimeltxw Willard ‘Buddy’ Joseph: Midnight Lightning
• Debra Sparrow: A Hundred Years of History
• Derek Tam: Convergence
• Joslyn Reid: Good Sport
• Kari Kristensen: Paper Boats
• Ocean Hyland: People of the Inlet

Expo 86 Original Teak Dragon Boat Display  |  With the support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto)

See one of the original teak boats used at Expo 86 to launch dragon boat racing in Canada! After being restored in 2017, the boat now returns to Vancouver and False Creek as part of a mobile display to reconnect paddlers to their heritage. The display will also feature archival clippings from when the boats were originally unveiled in 1986, as well as information on dragon boat’s evolution in Vancouver.

Festival Protocol and Ceremonial Programs

2024 Festival Blessing Ceremony – Awakening of the Dragons |  Saturday June 15, 1:30 PM  |  1 Athletes Way

An ancient ceremony conducted on the shores of False Creek. Join us as we carry on an important tradition into the modern era.  

The Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society is honoured to invite you to witness an ancient Taoist blessing and eye-dotting ceremony. Be present as our dragon boats come to life for the first time, and the spirit of the dragon is summoned to the water in advance of the Festival. This event is conducted by the International Taoist Church of Canada.

Click here to learn more.

• FREE ADMISSION
• Creekside Paddling Centre/Dragon Zone Paddling Club, 1 Athletes Way
• For media inquiries, please email [email protected]

Cultural programs presented with the support of:

 Click here for the previous year’s Cultural and Roaming Performance schedules and programming.