FAQ

Lily Lake – Rockwood Park, Saint John New Brunswick

The funds raised will support Lily Lake Pavilion’s children’s programs in Rockwood Park and the Lancaster Branch 69 Royal Canadian Legion’s building capital campaign. 

Yes, some Dragon Boat Festivals do focus on breast cancer survivors.  Our DRAGONS on the LAKE festival is a fundraiser for Lily Lake Pavilion’s children’s programming in Rockwood Park and Lancaster Branch 69 Royal Canadian Legion’s building capital campaign to continue serving local veterans, active military, RCMP members, their family and community.

Free parking will be available at an off site location on Crown Street during festival hours.

A shuttle – sponsored by Aquila Tours will be running from the parking lot to Lily Lake during festival hours..

Parking will be available in Fisher Lakes area of Rockwood Park.

Bicycle parking at unsupervised bike racks is available onsite. 

There is no site admission fee and it is open to the public.

Rockwood Park welcomes well behaved dogs on leash. 

Exciting Dragon Boat Racing, food trucks, Lily’s Lakeside Casual Dining and other festival events to be announced.

Yes, the festival is providing a drop-off zone in front of Lily Lake Pavilion.  There will be one way traffic in Rockwood Park during the festival so cars can drop off in the designated area and continue through the park for parking or back out of the park to the free offsite parking area with a shuttle. Cars MUST NOT be left unaccompanied in this area.

PLEASE NOTE: Traffic will be one way through Rockwood Park during the festival.

Yes, the festival plans to provides a free hydration station that provide water to refill your water bottles throughout the event. We also encourage patrons to check out Lily’s Lakeside Casual Dining or the food trucks.

Lily Lake Pavilion and Lily’s Lakeside Casual Dining are fully licensed. Patrons must be 19 years of age or older to purchase alcohol. Proof of ID is required. Please note that NO outside alcohol is permitted onsite and will be confiscated by security upon entry to the festival.

The opening ceremony will be scheduled at approximately 12pm.   

No, outside alcohol is not permitted at the festival.

The festival and racing will go ahead if it is raining. Generally, the only time the racing is postponed is if lightning or high winds occur.

Races are 200m in length.

No, all levels of paddlers are welcome. The majority of teams are recreational, with many never paddling before.  There may be experienced and competitive teams for those wishing to compete.  A team practice with qualified coaches is included in the team registration fee.

There are 16 spots in the boat plus one steersperson and one drummer. The steersperson is provided by the festival.  Each team can register up to 4 spare paddlers for substitutions throughout the day.

The drummer helps to set the rhythm of the stroke to keep the paddlers in sync. 

The team captain is the team leader and festival contact.  They will register your team; make sure you have enough members on your team including spares; they will receive all information on the festival and share it with the team.  They will also ensure that team fundraising goals are met.

Register your team through our online registration system, which only takes a few minutes to complete.

In addition to your contact info as Team Captain, you will need to enter your team name and sponsor – if applicable.

For the 1st Annual DRAGONS on the LAKE we will have one mixed division. All teams must have a minimum of 6 women on the team.

Team registration is $1500.  Each team member will be asked to raise a minimum of $100.  These additionally raised funds will be eligible for a charitable tax receipt and all donations $20 and above can request a charitable tax receipt.

Please note:  The registration fees go toward the operating costs of the festival and are not eligible for a charitable receipt. 

If you would like to paddle, but don’t have enough people to form a team you can register as an individual and we will help place you on a team. Individuals will be asked to pay their fee after they have been placed on a team and will have to meet the teams fundraising goals.

Most payment options require full team fee payment upon registration. If your team has a Corporate/Business sponsorship – registration fee invoices  will be sent from Lily Lake Pavilion Inc. – a registered charity.   All registration fees MUST be paid before the Festival.  There is also an option to allow team members to pay their own fee.

Payment is done online through our registration system by credit card or e transfer.  PLEASE NOTE: The registration fee is not a charitable donation and therefore not eligible for a tax receipt.

Registration is complete when we reach 21 teams or May 31st . The refund deadline is 4:00pm on April 30th . There is an administration fee of 25% (+HST) for all refunds.

Yes, all team members are required to submit a completed waiver. Waivers are to be submitted electronically during the online registration process.

Practices are held at Lily Lake. One free practice with a coach and steersperson is included in registrations.

All teams are encouraged to wear a team t-shirt or outfit at the festival, but it is not required. Many teams also wear team caps, face paint, temporary tattoos and themed costumes. An award will be presented for the most creative team. The winning team will be announced during the Awards Ceremony held on Saturday.

The festival will supply all boats and equipment including paddles and PFD’s. However, if you have an approved PFD of your own and your favourite dragon boat paddle, you can use it.

The festival will provide you with equipment for the races.  Check the weather and be prepared for the day.  As a team, you can determine what you need for your Dragons Lair Team Area.  Food vendors will be on site and Lily’s Lakeside Casual Dining will be open with various types of food and beverages.  Please note that outside alcohol is NOT permitted.

No, there are no lockers available on site. We recommend leaving valuables at home. We also recommend organizing a team friend or family member who can watch over any onsite valuables during your team’s races.

Fast drying shorts/shirts and sandals/sneakers are typically worn in the boat. You may also want to bring along a dry set of clothes, jacket, raincoat and hat.  Check the weather and be prepared for the day.

Yes, the changing area in the Lily Lake Pavilion will be open.

The Dragons Lair Team Area will be marked off onsite for the exclusive use of the participants. Space for pop up tents  will be assigned based on order of registration payment (Team Captains will be contacted for site selection). Team site size is 10’ x 20’.   Items left in this area are done so at your own risk. Your site will be reserved and numbered with the team site number that each team selects. Note: This Dragons Den Team Area does not include a spectator area.  There is a strict no outside alcohol and no onsite smoking as per city bylaws.

Yes, company banners may be displayed on your Dragons Lair Team Area site, but may not interfere with another team’s site. Banners are not permitted on boats.

Teams may set-up tents and bring in non-valuable items between 7:00am-8:00am on Saturday. There will be a drop off area available but there is no parking in this area.  There will only be one way traffic entering Rockwood Park. 

Yes, food vendors and Lily’s Lakeside Casual Dining will be offer a variety of food and beverages throughout the festival.

Lily Lake Pavilion and Lily’s Lakeside Casual Dining are fully licensed. Patrons must be 19 years of age or older to purchase alcohol. Proof of ID is required. Please note that NO outside alcohol is permitted onsite and will be confiscated by security upon entry to the festival. 

The Opening Ceremonies will be scheduled for approximately 12pm.

The Saturday race schedule will be available on our website the week prior to the festival. It will also be emailed to teams and the schedule will include both staging times and race times. How many races will we compete in? All teams are guaranteed two races.  All teams will compete in one morning race and a second race in the afternoon. Top teams will advance to additional races.