Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival - Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony

For the first time in the festival history that Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival will be expanding programming on each day of the event, introducing various new components including a new Opening Ceremony, new Parade of Champions and an additional race day, new Friday and Saturday late night headline events and new amusement attractions.

The new Opening Ceremony will be presented on Friday and added in a cultural tourist attractions like Aboriginal Dance and the RCMP Pipe and Drum band. The Parade of Champions is our version of the Olympics' Parade of Nations. This types of recognition from Attractions Canada and Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority. The festival’s opening ceremony is a highly anticipated event that officially marks the start of the festival. Numerous dignitaries will attend including the Mayor of Ottawa Jim Watson. Other special guests include CTV Ottawa media personalities Max Keeping and Carol Anne Meehan, River Ward Councilor Maria McRae, and other prominent members of the broader community.

The Opening ceremony will also be featuring some ancient Asian cultural celebrations to pay respect to the roots of the festival heritage. This will include The Success Lion Dance Troupe, who celebrates a 3000 year old tradition that symbolizes prosperity, luck and happiness. The Oto-Wa Taiko Japanese drummers who have been performing in Ottawa and around the world since 1989 will wow tourists and residents with their percussion skills and wide drums.

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