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This time, organizers didn’t wait and hold out hope that the Ottawa Ice Dragon Boat Festival could be held.
A news release recently posted on the festival’s website stated that, due to “ongoing challenges related to climate conditions, the required ice thickness cannot be guaranteed for the 2025 season.”
As a result, the festival was cancelled for a fifth straight year. Last winter, warm weather caused the event to be called off in the first week of February, only days before races were scheduled to be held on the Rideau Canal Skateway at Dow’s Lake. The event was also cancelled due to poor ice conditions in 2023, when the Skateway, for the first time in more than 50 years, did not open at all. The festival was cancelled in both 2022 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“We are deeply disappointed to make this decision,” CEO John Brooman said in the release about the 2025 festival. “The Ottawa Ice Dragon Boat Festival has always celebrated winter, community spirit, and cultural connection. However, the safety and viability of the event must come first.”
The statement said organizers remain committed to “exploring future possibilities for a sustainable return of the races.” It said the festival team would “continue to monitor environmental and technological developments to adapt to changing winter conditions.”
The 2025 edition of the festival, promoted as the world’s largest ice dragon boat event, had been scheduled to begin on Jan. 31.
There has been a recent cold snap in the Ottawa area, and on the weekend the National Capital Commission posted social media photos of crews beginning to prepare the Skateway. However, temperatures are expected to gradually rise through the week, with a high of 1 C forecast for Saturday, Dec. 28.
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