The Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival Staff Setup for This Weekend’s Race at Barker’s Island

BARKER’S ISLAND, Wisc.–The long oar-driven boats will be racing this weekend in the Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival and setup preparations are well underway at Barker’s Island.

The festival is the largest charitable fundraising even the city of Superior has to offer This weekend’s event resurfaced after being called off for the past two years. This was due to the Canadian border being closed because of the pandemic.

Staff and volunteers were busy getting the grounds ready for the racers and spectators that come from all over the state for the boat race. Earlier today the docks were being prepped and tents were being pitched for their beer garden.

This years Chair of the festival said, “We’re making the planks that we’ll be using to go from the shoreline to the dock for where the teams get into the festival. We’re out here setting up electrical right now, we’ll have eight different food vendors out here, we’re gonna have more traditional ones that we’ve had in the past”.

The festival will kick off tomorrow on Barker’s Island at 4 p.m., with an opening ceremony closet to 5p.m., with musical acts to follow. The boats hit the water early Saturday morning at 8 a.m.