Dragon Boat Festival a Great Success at Shadow Lake
Perfect weather helped set the stage for another successful Dragon Boat Festival at Shadow Lake in Waterford on June 20 (practice day) and June 21 (race day), 2026. Seventeen teams and nearly 400 paddlers took to the water for a weekend of spirited competition, community fellowship, and fundraising.
Hosted by the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise (RCNS) in partnership with the Cancer Resource Support Program (CSRP), the annual festival raises vital funds to support the work of both organizations. More than 30 dedicated volunteers—including Rotary members, CSRP volunteers, donors, family, friends, and students—helped ensure the event ran smoothly.
Race Day featured exciting heats from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with spectators enjoying live music, local food vendors, and plenty of enthusiastic cheering throughout the day. Teams also gathered for commemorative photos in front of the handcrafted wooden dragon boat and paddles created by Abel Enterprises.
A highlight of the festival was the moving Cancer Ceremony, which honoured those currently living with breast cancer, survivors in remission, and those who have passed away. It served as a powerful reminder of the community spirit and purpose behind this annual event.
Thank you to everyone who paddled, volunteered, sponsored, and attended. Your support made this year's festival another memorable success.
Until next year—Paddles Up!
General.
It was a community event - by the community and for the community. Many spectators came by and parked a chair by the water to watch the races. Others out for a walk or bike-ride through the park were surprised by the event and some lingered a little longer than planned to stop for lunch.
Perhaps the most significant take away from this event is that all the monies raised are intended to remain in our community. The RCNS and the CSRP have great plans to ensure those funds are spent wisely and within our local community. Once again, we can only thank everyone connected to this terrific event for the success we were able to achieve.
As teams raced and progressed throughout the day, they were slotted into 3 final divisions where 3 boats raced for bragging rights in each division. The first place team of each division were awarded medals to remember their victory by. This was the sort of event where everyone won; not least of which was our own Norfolk community. Nonetheless, it was a race and there were 3 divisional winners (click here to see detailed results). In the end, the Schaeffler Canada ‘Bearing Arms’ team from Stratford prevailed as first among equals, A Div Champion. They become the team to be slayed next year! Team pictures are at this link.
Appreciation Notes for Those Who Made this Event a Success.
This event took 6 months to bring to another successful conclusion. A huge thank you to everyone who helped to organize and execute this day - it wouldn’t have been possible without you! As the saying goes; 'many hands make light work'. So as to recognize so much appreciated help; individual contributions are listed as follows;
RCNS Core Planning Group - Gail Catherwood (lead), Carol Mummery (registrations), Andy Kooistra (lot operations), Cathy Harrop (social media) & Joanne Kiefer (volunteer coord);
RCNS Member Volunteers - Gail Bouw, Dave Bradshaw, Jim & Marjorie Dawson, Keith Jones, Wolf Lindeman, Paul Macko, Mary Mercato, Tina Millea, Carolyn Muir, Linda Muir, Jill Ormsby, Jim Peters, Louise Schebesch, Pam Shantz, Jim Simpson, John Wallace, Andrew Watt & Wes Wilson;
Friends of the RCNS - We were grateful for Keith Catherwood, Heather & Scott Furtney, Chris Howe, Martin Kiefer, Andrea Ongena along with a good number of students and locals who contributed their time.
The RCNS would also like to express our sincere gratitude to;
Our Four Major Sponsors for this EventShip of Jewels Appreciation for their Sponsor
our major event sponsors (MHN Lawyers LLP, Caradoc Townsend Mutual Insurance Company, the Wanda & Scott Memorial Golf Tournament and the Audrey S Hellyer Charitable Foundation with Josh Heller),
other sponsors including Morrison Insurance for their funding support and Timmermans Ranch for the contribution of a viewing stand and a dragon-boat team!;
Good Redden Klosler for sponsoring the medals presented to members of all teams that won their division;
Norfolk-Simcoe Electric who sponsored the ‘Ship of Jewels’ boat;
Alkame Dragon Boat Services (Convener Rachel Downes & her Support Team of 11) for another great year; and
the many other community groups that supported us, contributed in smaller ways or just plain attended so as to encourage us along.
Our printed ’thank you’ hardly seems equal to the task.
Dads vs Dads
Yes, it was Fathers Day.
Two novelty races were added this year and both were huge hits. The Mystery Race (officially called the Everything but the Kitchen Sink Race) was 3 boats (60 people) filled by anyone who was on a registered team. The Fathers Race recognized that there were many Dads that joined in to support this community event and our gratitude to their selflessness goes out to all of them. To recognize the day and celebrate the Dads with a paddling instinct, a special race was scheduled so that the Fathers could be a special part of the day - Go Dad!
Connection to Cancer Support & Resource Program (CSRP).
Cathy Ward, Gail Catherwood, Diana Besalaere, Pat Tebbs & Carol Mummery (regrets Jill Hogeveen)Carnations for the Ship of Jewels
Our Club has a very close relationship of mutual support with the CSRP as evidenced by the successful conduct of this event. The CSRP is dedicated to assisting those touched by cancer to take charge of their choices and offer a variety of emotional support services.
A break was taken during the festivities to remember all those currently battling breast cancer, those in remission and those who have died. Carnations were given to all survivors who waved them while sitting in a boat on the water while the song 'I've Been This Way before' (selected by Carol Mummery and sung by Kate Hudson) played. The ceremony is an integral part of the day.
