Paddles in hand, 20 people organized themselves into two rows on shore to practice how they would be positioned in the dragon boat, moored nearby at Barkers Island.
Belissa Ho switched a few people around, explaining that a paddler’s placement in the dragon boat isn’t based on how good they are.
“Each seat is really important,” she told the group.
In the week before the Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival, volunteers teach the nearly 70 teams how to paddle the boat off Barkers Island in preparation for Saturday’s races. The mandatory practices are for safety and help the teams “have the best possible chance of winning,” said Ho, a member of the Wiki Wiki Ohana dragon boat team and a four-year festival volunteer.
At each practice, volunteers help with registration, teach the teams about dragon boat paddling, help them into the boats, steer the boats and help them out of the boats. Volunteers also began on Monday to prepare Barkers Island for the influx of teams and spectators for the festival, scheduled to take place Friday and Saturday. During the festival, Barkers Island becomes the second-largest community in Douglas County for one day, said Superior Mayor Jim Paine, a current volunteer and former festival co-chair. All told, volunteers put in “hundreds and hundreds” of hours, Paine said.
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“It’s a finely tuned machine getting 70-some teams marshaled, lined up, prepped before the race, getting them on the dock, back off the dock, cleared out - to make sure that all happens on time takes a lot of volunteers; there’s no professionals here,” he said.
The festival kicks off Friday with a team parade at 6 p.m. and an opening ceremony at 6:30 p.m. at Barkers Island. Following the ceremony, people can enjoy campfires and yard games. Entertainment by the Lake City Smoking Section and the Mackie Brothers is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Races begin at 8 a.m. Saturday and are scheduled to run until 5 p.m. Saturday’s events include a bean bag tournament at 10 a.m., a craft fair from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and children’s activities from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A shuttle bus will run between the Mariner Mall and Barkers Island from 4 p.m. to midnight Friday and 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.
Individuals who would like to paddle, but don’t have a team, can register until 10 p.m. Friday at the registration tent to be placed with a team needing additional paddlers. Cost is $40 per person.
The goal is to provide a free family event, Paine said.
“It’s hundreds and hundreds of people participating in something together. You almost can’t describe it. You walk the island and see daylong parties of families and companies and nonprofits or social interest groups, all getting together and hanging out with each other. It is the perfect essence of community on a perfect summer day,” he said.
The fest is a fundraiser for the three Twin Ports Rotary Clubs and the Essentia Health Foundation. They’ve raised about $1.5 million during the festival’s 16 years and it’s stayed in the community, festival co-chair Kelly Peterson said.
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“We plan different pieces all year round. It does take a lot of work and we couldn’t do it without our Rotarian volunteers,” she said.
The Rotary clubs bring in the Wiki Wiki Ohana dragon boat team to organize team practices. Wiki Wiki Ohana is typically one of the top teams at the festival, but the best part is seeing the other teams succeed because of what they learned during practices, she said.
“We feel really good that teams feel good to be out here, they want to come back next year, they want to support the festival, they want to support the Twin Ports area,” Ho said.
Nicholas Mathiowetz is one of the volunteer steers who help control the boat for each team during the practices and races. Standing on the back of the boat, the steers ensure the safety of the boat during the race, he explained.
“Our benefit is that we’re up above everyone else and can actually see what’s going on. All of (the steers) have four or five or 10 years that they’ve been out at the festival so we know the water pretty well,” he said.
With the novice teams, he starts slowly so they can master paddling in sync. Working with the different teams and watching them improve each time they’re on the water is the best part of the festival, he said.
“I’ve met teams from all over the place. I’ve met teams with completely different levels of experiences, teams from restaurants, teams from outfitters, high school teams, friends and family teams. It’s fun to see all the groups and see everyone come together,” he said.
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