One of the summer’s marquee events in Vancouver, the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival returns this year with over 200 teams and 5,000 racers competing June 24-25.

As always music will be a major part of the two-day celebration, which is centred around Concord Pacific Place, Creekside Park, and False Creek. Headlining the TD Main Stage will be a 100 per cent local lineup featuring Vancouver synth-pop darling Dear Rouge and genre-mashing house producer Sabai.

Ricecake, meanwhile, will oversee programming spotlighting the city’s POC, Indigenous, and LGBTQ2S+ communities.

While dragon boat racers and music will be the big draws, this year’s 35th edition of the festival will also have an expanded craft market lineup and food truck presence—including a Red Truck Brewery patio. As always, admission is free to the public.

In a release announcing the 2023 event, TD Bank Senior Vice-Pesident Julie Armour said, “This marquee event is something our customers and colleagues look forward to every year—it harnesses the power of sport, culture and music to bring people together and celebrate the diversity that makes our communities so special.”

Concord Pacific CEO Terry Hui added, “As title partner, we invite everyone to celebrate the Festival’s 35-year anniversary, and again, experience one of the largest dragon boat festivals in the world.”

Dragon Boat Festival programming will spotlight the relationships forged between Chinese and Indigenous communities when Chinese migrants first landed in North America. Contemporary and traditional Indigenous artists will be showcased on the TD Main Stage, while an Indigenous Cultural Pavilion will educate visitors about the cultural practices, protocols, and community work of local host nations.

A Citizenship Ceremony at 10am on June 24, meanwhile, will take the Dragon Best Festival right back to its roots, with Chinatown’s The Boss Bakery serving up free birthday cake at noon.

As far as the actual dragon boat racing, things get underway at 9am on June 24, with June 25 featuring the semi-finals and finals.

For full information on this year’s Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival, go here.