International Dragon Boat Festival for breast cancer survivors
June 11 - 13, 2010
Peterborough, Canada

Breast cancer survivor teams from all over the world are preparing to participate in the International Dragon Boat Festival in 2010. The festival will be taking place in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada from June 11 to June 13, 2010. This is the third festival of its kind and previous festivals have been held in Vancouver, Canada and Caloundra, Australia. The venue for the festival will be Little Lake at Del Crary Park in downtown Peterborough. Survivors Abreast, Peterborough’s survivor team, is tickled pink to be hosting this worldwide event.

The event is organized under the auspices of the International Breast Cancer Paddler’s Commission (IBCPC). The primary objective of IBCPC festivals is to promote breast cancer awareness internationally and to encourage participation from breast cancer survivors.

The Festival programme is as follows:

Race Practices
Tuesday, June 8 – Friday, June 11
Times to be announced.

Workshops
Friday, June 11
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
See Workshops on the website for more information.

Parade
Friday, June 11
4:30 pm
The Festival Parade will begin at City Hall marching through the downtown on George Street to Del Crary Park, a distance of 1.5 km. Peterborough’s Downtown Business Improvement Association is supporting the parade and will encourage local businesses to “pink” up the streets and storefronts.

Mayor’s Barbeque
Friday, June 11
5:30 – 7:00 pm
A barbeque supper with beer tent will follow the parade.
Sponsored by the city’s Mayor.

Opening Ceremonies
Friday, June 11
7:00 pm
The opening ceremonies at Del Crary Park will be attended by local, provincial and national government dignitaries.

Races
Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13
8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Gala Evening
Saturday, June 12
6:00 pm cocktails, 7:00 pm dinner
Gala at the Evinrude Centre featuring exciting emcees, entertainment, and guest speakers including Dr. Don McKenzie, a hero in the breast cancer survivor world.

The Sandy Smith Global Race
Sunday, June 13
12:00 pm
A special race honouring Sandy Smith and her contributions to breast cancer dragon boat racing. The Sandy Smith Global Award will be presented at the closing ceremonies.

Flower Ceremony
Sunday, June 13
Following The Sandy Smith Global Race.
The Flower Ceremony is a tradition of tossing pink carnations into the water in remembrance of team members who have died. The ceremony will include music/choir singing and the formation of a human pink ribbon on shore.

Awards Presentation
Sunday, June 13
Time TBA

Closing Ceremonies
Sunday, June 13
Time TBA

For more information, or to register to participate, visit:

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