The increasingly popular Chinese tradition of dragon boat racing commemorates the suicide of Qu Yuan, a revered Chinese poet who threw himself into the Mi Luo River in 278 B.C. The Montreal International Dragon Boat Race Festival, which carries through to this weekend, will be providing coloured and kaleidoscopic fun and frolic while enacting the way villagers rushed out to save Qu Yuan's soul from the evil ghosts, and his body from the fish lurking about the waters. Each of the 110 teams are promised three races, which occur every eight minutes. Each elaborately painted boat has 22 people--20 rowers, one steerer and one drummer.
The action kicks off this Saturday, July 22. Opening ceremonies begin at 11 a.m. with a performance by Japanese drummers Arashi Daiko and a team parade. Free shuttle buses depart all day from the Days Inn
(88 Rene-Levesque E.) to take you to the Olympic Basin on Ile-Notre-Dame. July 22-23, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. :
The increasingly popular Chinese tradition of dragon boat racing commemorates the suicide of Qu Yuan, a revered Chinese poet who threw himself into the Mi Luo River in 278 B.C. The Montreal International Dragon Boat Race Festival, which carries through to this weekend, will be providing coloured and kaleidoscopic fun and frolic while enacting the way villagers rushed out to save Qu Yuan's soul from the evil ghosts, and his body from the fish lurking about the waters. Each of the 110 teams are promised three races, which occur every eight minutes. Each elaborately painted boat has 22 people--20 rowers, one steerer and one drummer.