PEIFor the first time in several years, dragon boats skimmed across the shimmering waters of Charlottetown Harbour over the weekend. ‘It’s a wonderful sport for camaraderie, for socializing. Just a lot of fun on the water’Stephen Brun · CBC News · Posted: Aug 10, 2025 5:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours agoSaturday’s dragon boat festival in Charlottetown drew nine teams, each with 16 rowers and one drummer, who’s responsible for making sure the paddlers all stay in rhythm. (Delaney Kelly/CBC)For the first time in several years, dragon boats skimmed across the waters of Charlottetown Harbour over the weekend. Members of P.E.I.’s Filipino community organized the races as a way to boost the sport on the Island, and to raise money for charity, Make-A-Wish Canada. Vladimir Iscala, chair of the Charlottetown Dragon Boat Festival, began racing dragon boats over 20 years ago in his home country of the Philippines. When he moved to Charlottetown in 2021, he saw an opportunity to bring the sport back to Prince Edward Island and contribute to his new community. Dragon boat racing got its start in southern China about 2,000 years ago and is also popular in the Filipino community, says Valdimir Iscala, chair of the Charlottetown Dragon Boat Festival. (Delaney Kelly/CBC)”We have a big community of Filipinos living here in Charlottetown and some of them know dragon boats and [are] very familiar with the sport,” Iscala said. “It creates the community engagement… and it promotes wellness and it also creates a great bond between the people, the cultures, regardless of where [they] came from.” Dragon boat racing got its start in southern China about 2,000 years ago, and Iscala said it’s also big in the Filipino community. He hopes to make the Charlottetown festival an annual event. Saturday’s races drew nine teams, each with 16 rowers and one drummer, who’s responsible for making sure the paddlers all stay in rhythm — a piece of teamwork that’s key to dragon boat racing.The organizers also supplied each registered team with a boat and all the necessary equipment, which was trucked to Charlottetown by the Montreal-based company 22Dragons.A licensed and certified coach provided the teams with one hour of training before the event.Shelley Hughes is a member of a dragon boat racing team out of St. Andrews, N.B., a club that formed six years ago. (Delaney Kelly/CBC)Shelley Hughes made the trip to Charlottetown from her home dragon boat club in St. Andrews, N.B.While her team wanted to remain competitive, Hughes said attending the P.E.I. event was more about introducing people to the sport her club has grown to love over the past six years since it was founded. “We wanted to come and support the Charlottetown group so that dragon [boating] can be reinvigorated here on the Island,” she said. “It’s a wonderful sport for camaraderie, for socializing. Just a lot of fun on the water.” Mainstreet PEIFirst Charlottetown Dragonboat FestivalThe Filipino community is hosting the very first Charlottetown Dragonboat Festival on Saturday at Victoria Park. We speak with organizer Vladimir Iscala about the event.’Feels like home’Dragon boat races have been held in P.E.I. in years past, perhaps most notably when Prince William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, began a friendly racing rivalry at Dalvay during their first international tour in 2011. That same spirit of good-natured competition is what got Leo Buan out on the waters in Charlottetown on Saturday. Leo Buan, front left, now lives in P.E.I. but previously raced dragon boats in Singapore and in his home country of the Philippines. (Delaney Kelly/CBC)He moved to Canada from the Philippines five years ago, but had already taken part in competitive dragon boat racing in his home country and in Singapore. When he heard about the festival, he convinced his co-workers to put in a team.”I’m here to paddle, I’m here to have fun and I’m here to win…. The vibe is very energetic, it’s electrifying, it’s amazing,” Buan said, “Feels like home.”ABOUT THE AUTHORStephen Brun works for CBC in Charlottetown, P.E.I. Through the years he has been a writer and editor for a number of newspapers and news sites across Canada, most recently in the Atlantic region. You can reach him at stephen.brun@cbc.ca.With files from Delaney Kelly
Filipino community in P.E.I. boosts dragon boat racing with new event
