Canada’s Border Closure Partly To Blame For Dragon Boat Festival’s Cancellation

SUPERIOR, Wis. – It’s a no-go for this year’s Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival, and we’ve learned timing and the closure at the Canadian border are partly to blame.

The popular festival on Barker’s Island in Superior was set for the end of August, but committee members felt there wasn’t enough time to get boat teams of 20 together to fully fundraise for the Twin Ports Rotary Clubs’ charitable partner 23rd Veteran.

On top of that, six of the festival’s eight boats used in the races are stuck in Canada because the border is still closed.

“I’ve heard rumors it may open later this month but it was cutting it too close, so that was a big part of it. Plus, we get a lot of teams from Thunder Bay and the surrounding areas and so we would hate to do it without them. That would be tough,” said Scott Soderberg, with the festival’s planning committee.

The Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival has raised well over $1 million for charitable organizations in the Twin Ports since it was founded in 2002.

The committee will now focus on a comeback for 2022.  They are also looking for a new major sponsor.

For the latest on next year’s festival, log on to LakeSuperiorDragons.com.